Jacob Reeves

Recap: A slow burn psychological character study about a broken man living in a broken city. Unable to fit in or even communicate with society, Arthur fleck slowly cracks after being beaten physically and emotionally while the system forgets him. As he breaks, something hidden deep inside emerges, and finally he finds joy in his dark world. Thematic analysis: The story touches on a few themes, but the backbone of the story gives us insight into the monsters that we create by turning away from the broken and lonely souls of the world. A person like Arthur isnt born that way, he's made. Acting and directing: this is the spotlight. There was a few times in the theater where I was blown away by the beauty in screen. The way the camera focuses on specific things, the way colors pop to add a certain feeling. The extreme close up where's you can see the pores and creases in Arthur's skin. Phoenix's potrayal in this is transformative. He becomes the character and everything he does is believable, which can't be easy to do. And the final act is a show stopping, mind blowing (literally) performance that will leave you smiling, while questioning your own sanity as you smile with a psycho. Worth a second theater viewing. Score: 9.50 /10

What makes a person bad or good? What pushes a person to murder out of revenge? Can you truly every forgive those who've taken everything from you? After all the wrong you've done, can you every truly love again, or be loved? For me these were core themes throughout the story, and I found myself sympathizing with every 'bad guy' I encountered. The game is heartbreaking, and difficult to predict. I was constantly trying to guess where the story would go, but not once was correct (I'm a writer, so usually I figure stories out pretty early on). The story is very long. Each segment can be tricky. But once you embrace the game play, and find that perfect balance between stealth and full-blown-action, you'll find yourself enjoying it. But I could see the gameplay being annoying for some.