It’s been a while since Joker released to critical acclaim and over $1 billion grossed worldwide. The film was both hyped and mired in controversy after its Golden Lion win at the Venice Film Festival. There was much talk about the incendiary nature of the film, specifically fears of it inspiring violence in the vein of the Dark Knight shooting in Aurora, Colorado. There were calls for increased police presence at showings of the film, and the fear was so prevalent that the U.S. military issued a warning about possible violence. Well, three months (and 11 Oscar nominations) later, we know that there was indeed nothing to worry about—an interesting metatext in the context of the film. Now, we take a look back at this complex film three months after its release.

Why talk about this film so long after it came out? Surely there is nothing more to be said about it after the amount of coverage it received. Logistically, it was because VReview was on a hiatus as a result of the California wildfires, which affected us right before the Joker review was going to go up. But more interesting is how discourse about the film has changed in the wake of its peaceful and record breaking theatrical run. This retrospective look provides a more nuanced take on the film.

Not enough can be said about Joaquin Phoenix’s performance in this film, who just won an Academy Award for the role after sweeping most of the awards circuit. This level of performance wasn’t unexpected from Phoenix, widely considered one of the best actors working today, but even then it exceeded expectations. We see Arthur Fleck, a mentally ill aspiring comedian living with his mother, gradually descend into insanity as he is plagued by the evils of society. The specific story beats of the film have been beaten to death, but one still sticks out—the now iconic “bathroom dance.” Coupled with a depressingly beautiful score by Hildur Guðnadóttir (Chernobyl), this scene captures what is, in essence, the death of Arthur, and the rise of the Joker. This film could not have succeeded without Phoenix’s unsettling and scarily sympathetic performance.

Todd Phillips’ direction is also a high point (for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe and Academy Award). This came as a genuine surprise considering the previous films he’s worked on and how they turned out, but the driving artistic vision is consistently present throughout the film, painting a picture of a bleak Gotham with a nice tie-in to the larger DC universe. The cinematography effortlessly lends itself to elucidating the continually decaying state of mind of Arthur, awash with bleak shades of drab green and grays.

Ultimately, Joker transcends its designation as a “comic book movie” with depth and nuance that hasn’t been seen in the genre before.