Joker: Folie à Deux
review by Bobby Blakey
At the height of the comic film market, DC was struggling to find its own shared universe. Since then, the original run of films has ended and are on track to try a new path. In 2019 Director Todd Phillips and star Joaquin Phoenix teamed up for Joker to critical acclaim. After its success it came as no surprise that a sequel was announced, but where would it be able to go in a Batman free Joker world? The mystery was short lived with the announcement of Lady Gaga taking on the role of Harley Quinn for the sequel Joker: Folie à Deux and co-starring Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener and Zazie Beetz, reprising her role from “Joker.”
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Joker: Folie à Deux follows Arthur Fleck now institutionalized at Arkham awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker. While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love, but also finds the music that's always been inside him.
I loved the first film in all its gritty, chaotic glory. It was not just another film about a supervillain, but a journey into madness and depression that screamed of the real world. It didn’t work for everyone, but for me it was perfection. It didn’t need a sequel but with the rich history of the character and success at the box office we all knew it was going to happen. Now that I have spent more time with Fleck in this latest sequel, I am now left with more mixed feelings than I was the first time around.
Let me say that I didn’t dislike this film, but I didn’t completely like it either. You need to know that this is an altogether different film this time around and not just because of the musical aspect. The film is a blend of a prison movie and a courtroom drama while still dealing with the decent into further madness. The obsession and execution of violence isn’t as front and center this time around and replaced with the budding love story of these dysfunctional people. I have always been annoyed with the love of Harley and Joker like it’s a
healthy relationship and give this film credit for focusing on both sides of that without ever making it seem like a good thing.
Their relationship here is building and fleeting all at once and sadly we never get to see them reap chaos together like I had hoped, but still have plenty of great moments with them together. I was worried about the musical aspect, but as I expected they worked it in to perfection that fits with the narrative of their mental state. These elements worked great for me, but it was their interactions in between that felt like they don’t really go anywhere and are just filler for the next song instead of the narrative.
Both Phoenix and Gaga are excellent in their roles and the only reason this film works at all. The slow pace of it wears on you as you wait for something to happen. I dig things kinds of things and just watching Phoenix is great, but infusing Quinn into the story in this new way should have given it that something special to change things, but every time it feels like it is fixing to do something fresh it holds itself back and falls right back into the same line.
The trial sequences are probably the best part of the film with it using the opportunity to connect to the original film and stretch the character building of Fleck’s persona. There are some great nods to some other familiar characters fans will enjoy seeing without them feeling forced into place much in the same way of using Bruce Wayne in the first film. Phoenix’s best moment in the film is the closing argument speech he gives and really elevates what came before it, which was pretty slow and dull, likely to make some lose interest. The final scene to the film was a surprise and one that if you pay close attention could even explain everything about this version of the Joker that fans have speculated from day one and a way to move forward should they chose to try and make this part of the bigger narrative, but also stands tall all its own.
I wanted to love this movie like the first, but it just didn’t happen. I didn’t hate it and think I might grow to enjoy it a lot more now that I know the overall tone, but its not one that I think is going to connect as strongly as the original if at all.
Decide for yourself and check into Arkham to witness the trial and romance of Joker: Folie à Deux in theaters October 4th from Warner Bros Discovery.
