Writer/director Todd Phillips brings a rich and complex character study to the comic book film with Joker, a gritty and grounded standalone origin story about Batman’s most iconic villain. Equal parts despicable and human and adorned with a phenomenal career-defining performance from Joaquin Phoenix, Joker causes us to see aspects of ourselves and our world in the tragic flaws of its protagonist, which makes his tumble down the rabbit hole of madness that much more real.