This is the second time I watched this film, as a preparation to watch the sequel. I remember why it was hard to watch the first time and the second time wasn't easier.

This movie is too real to dismiss as just another "Batman" movie. While dramatized, the events in the film revolve around a realistic situation of a realistic mental illness of a potentially realistic person. I'm not surprised to see that most of the negative criticism came from prestigious places like the New Yorker or the NYT: these are exactly the guys that would miss the point.