The movie Joker, which covers serious topics such as mental illness and bullying, has been getting a lot of attention lately, both positive and negative.

Many consider the lead actor, Joaquin Phoenix, as a frontrunner for Best Actor at the Oscars for his riveting portrayal of Arthur Fleck (also known as Joker). While many people argue that Joker should be nominated for Best Picture, many critics disagree. 

On Rotten Tomatoes, Joker has an audience score of 89% but received a mere 68% from movie critics. These low ratings are due to many people thinking that the film did a poor job of portraying mental illness and glorifying gun violence. 

“I don’t really understand the criticism from Joker. I loved it. It was definitely the best movie I’ve watched in a long time,” commented junior Jake Dillon. 

On its opening day, Joker earned $96 million at the box office, crushing the previous record for an October opening, previously held by Venom and its $80 million.

The movie follows Arthur Fleck, a poor man living with his mother who suffers from a mental disorder that causes him to uncontrollably laugh at inappropriate times, often landing him to trouble. As the movie progresses, he starts to get fed up with his poor treatment by the upper class and society as a whole.

“Pheonix is an incredible actor. He acted in the scenes so well that it really helped give an emotional connection and gave the movie a very realistic feel,” junior Elise Kosoy noted.

Overall, all aspects of Joker, including the acting, writing, and music, were incredible and will leave the viewer thinking.