Joker: Folie à Deux – Review

Cert – 15, Run-time – 2 hours 18 minutes, Director – Todd Phillips

As he prepares for his murder trial, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) finds himself set free by Arkham Asylum’s musical therapy programme, and fellow singer, and Joker fan, Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga).

If you loved Joker you’ll likely hate Folie à Deux. If you hated Joker you’ll also likely hate Folie à Deux. If you thought that Joker was fine or pretty good be prepared to flip a coin. 2019’s take on the classic Batman villain is one of the most successful films ever made, grossing over a billion dollars, receiving audience and critical acclaim and picking up a good few awards along the way. With a budget increase from $55 million to an estimated $200 million co-writer (alongside Scott Silver) and director Todd Phillips has made an even bolder, even darker, follow-up that you would almost think was designed to address and stir the conflict around the first film, as if made to be a contrast to the original and turn away the audience who loved it so much. If Joker was Taxi Driver meets The King Of Comedy then this is Bringing Out The Dead meets New York, New York.

While not packed with songs, to the point where you can almost understand the cast’s statements about this not being a musical, the musical beats lift up and take away from the darkness of the film as Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) prepares for his murder trials. Locked in the dirty cells of Arkham Asylum’s E ward, abused by guards such as Brendan Gleeson’s Jackie, Fleck is set free by both music therapy and B ward patient Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga). The first time Arthur properly sings he gradually builds up For Once In My Life, moving around the room more fluidly as his vocals grow. It’s at this moment, after a bumpy time establishing the current state of the main character’s life, that Folie à Deux properly takes shape.

More an extended epilogue than a fully rounded sequel; the focus is very much on the courtroom drama at hand, and the world’s reactions to the Joker and his murders. A TV movie has been made, which Arthur hasn’t been allowed to see, and reporters are constantly at the asylum gates trying to get an interview, not helping the case of Arthur’s lawyer (Catherine Keener) that Arthur and Joker are two different people, a case of dissociative identity disorder.

As with his Oscar-winning performance in 2019, here Phoenix is largely playing as Arthur, with Joker creeping in now and then outside of the performative make-up guise. Handcuffed in a police car to and from trial proceedings Arthur’s face and eyes twitch with thoughts coming to mind, shifting from one to the next in real time. Phoenix is remarkable here as a man being tortured by everyone else’s impressions of him whist he battles with his shadow, detailed in a Looney Tunes style animation as the film’s opening.

Breaks into fantasy for the musical numbers during the trial, with classic soundstage production design and colour schemes – the production design throughout is fantastic – can initially seem somewhat jarring, but the more they appear the more likable they become. The more they feel like they work within the film and the world that its creating. The same one from the first film, but more in the mind of Arthur as he competes with the Joker, trying to understand if they’re the same person or not with conflicting hopes and opinions on either side of him. All as the threat of the death penalty hangs over him.

Perhaps best exemplified in his relationship with Gaga’s Harley/ Quinzel. Batted back and forth by her view of him purely as Joker, claiming to have watched the TV movie 20 times, lured in by their shared performance of standards, even if growing as escapes in his mind conceptualising his relationship with the rest of the world. There’s a smile to be found in such moments with the escape and relief that they provide from the darkness of the rest of the film. Not a downbeat trudge, but, much like 2019’s outing, not a joyful 2-hour breeze. Even after a film such as Joker this is an even bolder follow-up that deviates strongly from that film.

This sequel certainly won’t be for everyone, particularly strong fans of the original, but there’s an interesting continuation of character study here. One that takes risks with how it depicts the developments, and while some stages might be somewhat bumpy through the lens of the central character in his more uncertain moments there’s still an interesting, risk-taking sequel to be found here. Driven by Phillips and a once-again-excellent Phoenix who both appear driven to strike a different chord, and potentially crowd, here.

An undeniably bold departure from the first film, Joker: Folie à Deux will not be for everyone. As its musical numbers grow so does the confliction for Joaquin Phoenix’s fantastically-performed central character, making for an interesting character study where the scattering of songs stop the increased darkness from becoming a bleak slog.