Three-time Oscar nominee Phoenix may finally have the last laugh as Joker

Phoenix is brilliant as Joker, radiating pure mania and a mocking evilness as he transforms from a meek loser to a character almost amazed by the power of his random villainy

Joker rolled into the Toronto International Film Festival or TIFF with a trump up its sleeve — it had scored an eight-minute standing ovation at its world premiere just days earlier at the Venice Film Festival and gone on to win the festival’s top prize, the Golden Lion, for best film. If the accolades were for Joaquin Phoenix’s performance in the title role, perhaps the audience had skimped a bit on the applause.

As anyone familiar with the Batman story knows, Joker is the most sinister and dangerous of the villains confronting the superhero, a manic presence who needs no reason