Joker: Folie À Deux – A Perplexing Sequel (Early Review)

(watch my review here)

Five years ago, to the day, Joker released in theaters amid a slew of media coverage surrounding its release and its subject matter. Many in the press began reporting that the movie could inspire real-life violence and cause significant damage to property and lives after. On opening weekend, the screenings I went to were surrounded by SWAT vans and NYPD cars. Inside the theater, there were SWAT officers walking around and watching everyone come in, entering the first show of Joker in IMAX at around 4:30 PM on Thursday afternoon. Some days later, metal detectors were at another location. The frenzy helped the film’s publicity, leading to a global gross of $1 billion and until recently, being the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time. A standalone origin for the character, the film took from various comic sources including Alan Moore’s “Batman: The Killing Joke”, Frank Miller’s “The Dark Knight Returns” and Brian Azzarello’s “Joker”, but gave the titular character his own disconnected story, portraying him as a man pushed to the limits by society while dealing with his deteriorating mental health. Though polarizing, it was also well received by many, and led to 11 Oscar nominations, including two wins for Best Original Score and Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix, making him the second actor to win for playing the character after Heath Ledger’s portrayal in “The Dark Knight.”

While there may not be SWAT teams at theaters this time, five years later, Phoenix and director Todd Phillips return to tell the next chapter of Arthur Fleck’s story in Joker: Folie à Deux, a sequel that many deemed unlikely to exist based on how the first film ended. Taking place two years after shooting Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro) live on national television, Fleck (Phoenix) is serving time in Arkham Asylum, waiting out the days until he goes to trial for his crimes and attempt to defend himself. At this moment in time, Arthur meets Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (Gaga), another inmate at Arkham, who takes an immediate liking to him. This is a surprise to Arthur, as he has not felt this kind of love in his life before, and Lee’s understanding of his psyche is immediately reciprocated. As the two fall in love and the trial commences, Gotham begins to turn and back Joker’s actions, craziness ensues, all leading to the film that follows.

Taking the inclusion of Lady Gaga into consideration, Joker: Folie à Deux can also be considered a musical, having Joker and Harley often convey their thoughts and feelings on the events taking place around them using song and dance, moving along to the surroundings to make each other whole. This leads to some creative and visually dazzling moments that transform the world around them, making for an unconventional follow-up. Much like the original film, Folie à Deux is likely to also be a divisive experience for audiences. While it carries forward many strengths of the previous entry, it also comes with issues of its own. What can be said for sure, however, is how it takes many a bold chance when it comes to its storytelling. Choices are made that will surely invite debate, particularly in terms of its unexpected third act, and the responses to those will remain to be seen.

Where Folie à Deux once again succeeds is with its performances. As Fleck, the work from Phoenix across both Joker films is commendable, as he once again channels Arthur’s pain and darkly funny humor through in heartbreaking ways. With the film often challenging who is operating the controls in his head, whether it’s Arthur or Joker, the acting is effective in those moments and leads to some standout deliveries, particularly in a courtroom scene later on. Complimenting this is Lee, who Gaga brings to life wonderfully. A very different interpretation of the character as compared to other versions audiences have seen across live-action and animation recently such as Margot Robbie, Kaley Cuoco and Tara Strong’s portrayals, Lee taps into Arthur’s mentality and instantly connects with him. The love between them is effectively shown, and given good backing with the musical numbers.

Meanwhile, much like the first film, it is visually incredible. Lawrence Sher, who photographed the first movie, returns for Folie à Deux, which is mesmerizing to experience on the big screen, particularly its stellar IMAX sequences and a few exceptional one-shots. The vibrant colors in those musical sequences as well as the overall look of Gotham are captured wonderfully, resulting in one of the most gorgeous films of the year. The score from Hildur Guðnadóttir, also returning from the first film, is outstanding, expanding on many of the original themes while also adding in new motifs to surround the romance between Arthur and Lee. On a technical level, Folie à Deux might even be above Joker, as the level of craftsmanship on display is undeniably impressive, with the costume design and makeup work this time around even more striking and impressive than before.

And yet, Folie à Deux is a perplexing watch, particularly in terms of its narrative choices. While it takes its chances and swings for the fences, often times to places no comic book sequel would dare go, it also pulls its punches back at times, not allowing itself to be crazy as it can be. This is particularly notable in the musical sequences, which are beautifully choreographed, but save for one moment with Joker and Harley in a crowd, often just stop short of being really bizarre. A major issue that surrounds the film, however, is a lack of focus. The original film succeeded in spades here, keeping its story centered around everything from Arthur’s perspective and what he is seeing and feeling. As is the case with many sequels, Folie à Deux tries to do too much and often loses sight of some of those new additions, particularly Lee. While there are some great moments with Gaga, she is restrained to the sidelines often times, and doesn’t always have the opportunity to shine more. This also leads to some inconsistent pacing issues, particularly in the second act, as some scenes go on a bit longer than they should and can affect the momentum.

The bigger issues, however, lie in the movie’s final act. Without spoilers, Phillips and co-writer Scott Silver make decisions that are undoubtedly going to be debated for a long after the credits roll. It’s a make or break sequence of events that puts Arthur and Lee in a fascinating position, and leads to an admittedly unique yet confounding resolution. It makes rating the film tougher as the events that proceed are hard to judge in an instant, so as our score stands, it might be a preliminary one in some capacity. Time will tell how Joker: Folie à Deux ages, and how others perceive the film and its finale, whether this is all a tragedy or a comedy. Either way, hopefully the discussion makes more cents in the end.

*still courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures*

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Shaurya Chawla