“Joker” is a movie that you ignore at your own peril. Its fans will no doubt complain that this review focuses on politics, but the movie’s political implications are so explicit and intentional (despite the main character’s last-minute protestations to the contrary) that ignoring them would be the film critic equivalent of dereliction of duty. If you’re going to be a “message” picture, then your message defines your artistic merit.

Axar.az reports citing Rawstory that it is a dangerous manifesto that could inspire incels to commit acts of violence, as some of its critics fear? An edgy character study teeming with social commentary, as director Todd Phillips and co-writer Scott Silver seem to have intended? Is it a dark comic book adventure like “The Dark Knight” or a perverse ode to mentally ill social rejects, like the Martin Scorsese classics “Taxi Driver” and “The King of Comedy” (and “The Dark Knight” as well)?

The answer is yes to all of those questions, but explaining why is not so simple. It’s best to start by describing the skin of the film, its meandering plot, before trying to disentangle the messy entrails.