“Joker,” a film directed by Todd Philips, became a quick pop culture classic when it was released in 2019. It took the world by storm, garnering an 89% score on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8.4/10 on IMDB; it was viewed as a new take on an already infamous villain.
When the news of a sequel was released, the general public seemed to be excited. This dulled into a cautious optimism when it became a musical. Still, comic fans, DC cinematic universe lovers, and your average movie-goer were in their seats for “Joker: Folie à Deux.” This movie takes place two years after the original. It is about the trial of The Joker, Arthur Fleck, regarding the heinous acts we saw him commit in the first film, while also being a twisted love story between him and Lee.
I entered “Joker: Folie á Deux” with an open mind and an excited spirit. I will admit this: I wanted to emerge with an opinion. I wanted to either despise it and rant about my hatred for it, or I wanted to love it and passionately defend it. Unfortunately, “Joker: Folie à Deux” lives in the gray.
To start with the positives, the performances of both Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix were brilliant. Lady Gaga truly became Lee, and this was one of the main factors that immersed me in the movie. It was easy to forget that this was global superstar and award-winning singer Lady Gaga.
Joaquin Phoenix was absolutely incredible as well. With his movements, the changes from Arthur to Joker became captivating. He played off a deranged, mentally unstable individual so well that I almost wondered if somebody should check in on him.
Both the cinematography and the mise-en-scéne was nearly perfect. There were the little details: when Arthur smoked his cigarettes, showing that he was leaning into the role of Joker, and the crowd in the courtroom laughed at him in his head, alongside the stunning wardrobe… everything was fantastic. The cinematography also impressed, with the musical scenes having stagnant camera angles (almost similar to the older films they were trying to emanate) versus the regular scenes with their sharp cuts. This choice provided an excellent contrast between fantasy and reality. All in all, the film looked amazing. Unfortunately, the plot was not nearly as good as the visuals.
“Joker: Folie á Deux” constantly reminds us of what occurred in the previous movie, with each trial sequence acting as a narration of the first film. No new information was provided in Arthur’s trial (which took over more than half of the movie); this caused the pacing to feel incredibly wacky. Despite being just over two hours, I felt as if I was at the movie theater for four. The songs, despite being a strong point of the movie, did not help with the strange pace. Instead of immersing me in the movie, the grandiose music numbers took me out of it, acting as almost a commercial break in between the harsh tones of “Joker 2.” And I love musicals.
Despite this movie being a character study of Arthur’s mind and motivations, I didn’t walk out understanding him any more than I did in the last film. Gaga’s Lee is also criminally underused, despite being brilliant in the scenes she did occupy. Phillips tried to make the inmates of Arkham important characters, specifically one in particular. However, the lack of time and energy invested into developing these characters made me painfully neutral. Actually, I’m pretty sure they vaguely kill one of these guys, and the film acts like the audience is supposed to care. However, I was unmoved.
Phillips’s message from the first “Joker” carries over into the second: the exploitation of mentally ill people by society. He shows this in numerous ways, such as the trial being filmed for live television and by Joker’s “adoring” fans’ behavior. Regrettably, I stopped caring about this noble message around halfway through due to his commitment to scream it at us. In this sense, I think “Joker 2” suffers from being a Joker movie. I can never take a genuine critique of mental health through the lens of Joker—who is a mass murderer—seriously.
Overall, I could never label “Joker: Folie à Deux” as terrible. The acting, cinematography, and altogether layout of the film were too amazing for that. But, I will say that” Joker 2” is not a movie; it’s a message, and that severely undermines any possible enjoyment of the film. Where the first Joker film was ambitious, “Joker: Folie à Deux” was aggressive. Where the first Joker danced, “Joker: Folie à Deux” stomped. I am sincerely glad that Phillips has proclaimed to Variety that he wishes to “move on,” as I do too. I’m eagerly awaiting the next Batman villain that gets the limelight, which will hopefully allow “Joker: Folie à Deux” to fade into obscurity.
5/10 stars.
