The only other aspect of the movie I can wax positive about aside from its indifference to whatever audience it might attract is that of performance. Both Lady Gaga and Phoenix clearly put a lot of work into their characterizations and interactions. The different performance modes they use in singing, for instance, low-key and fallible in their own “real lives,” full-on, professional quality belting in their shared dreams. While Gaga maintains well for the duration of the picture, Phoenix’s virtuosity eventually curdles into narcissistic exhibitionism (his ostensible Joker “dance” really just looks like he’s doing pre-Yoga stretches). But it’s still virtuosity, for whatever it’s worth.