Really enjoyed it. I never get into the comparisons, I’ll leave that for the internet. I prefer to enjoy the iteration of the character that’s being depicted, they’re almost incomparable because of the difference of this.
Phoenix is a magnificent actor. His performance alone was worth a watch, along with the score (both of which fittingly received an academy award). After many years of trying, it was a highlight for me to finally meet (via zoom of course) Phoenix earlier this year.
There’s always a few things here and there that I would change. It maybe leaned too much into Taxi Driver etc, which was no secret though that a lot of inspiration was drawn from that film. It’s dark as * and wouldn’t have worked if not R rated.
There were some glorious homages in the closing 20 minutes or so to The Dark Knight Returns/Endocrine talk show scene (and particularly the “you wouldn’t get it” dialogue as he chuckles to himself). One of my favourite novels. I giggled with glee in the cinema.
