If you loved Joker, you might actually hate Joker: Folie à Deux, a pleasantly unexpected and yet surprisingly tedious sequel for Joaquin Phoenix‘s Arthur Fleck.
Now that he’s not trying to emulate Martin Scorsese’s gritty New Hollywood aesthetic (mainly Taxi Driver) using DC’s IP to sell it, director Todd Philipps has decided to change course completely, for better or worse.
Joker 2 is a musical (yes), touching genres from prison thriller to legal drama, with a quirky romance at its core and an attempt to offer a glimpse of social radicalism at its surface. Tiptoeing the fine line that separates fantasy from reality in Arthur’s mind, the movie is like a fever dream where a brutal act of violence can lead to a character bursting into song.
For all of its attempts at bending genres and the out-of-the-box proposition, it nevertheless feels like an empty, lifeless and ultimately unnecessary follow-up to Joker.
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The story follows Arthur as he awaits trial at Gotham’s Arkham State Hospital, where he has become a shadow of himself due to the medication that keeps his imagination at bay, and because of the unspeakable abuses inflicted by the prison guards.
While preparing his defence with attorney Maryanne Stewart (Catherine Keener), who wants to spare him the electric chair by claiming he is psychologically disturbed – and that Joker is a sort of demon living inside of him – Arthur finds a lifeline to hold on to.
During a music class at Arkham, he meets fellow inmate Harleen ‘Lee’ Quinzel (Lady Gaga), who praises him for his crimes and is in awe of his Joker persona.
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When released, Lee will become the Joker’s best advocate on the outside during his murder trial, slowly morphing into the character we know as Harley Quinn (though that name is never explicitly mentioned in the movie).
Another big Batman character, District Attorney Harvey Dent (Harry Lawtey), pops up in the story with not much consequence. We’re not here to dive into DC’s lore anyway.
The movie alternates between a grim reality painted with grey colours and struck with violence, and a fantasy of multicoloured umbrellas, Cher-inspired TV shows and improvised tap dances. Understandably, Philipps favours the fantasy, which is usually more entertaining but unfortunately not very engaging.
There’s something rotten at its core that stops you from genuinely caring about these characters, or about this movie at all.
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As the story will hammer ad nauseam, Arthur is no leader, icon or hero, but a troubled and traumatised man who only wants to be loved. There’s no social reckoning or political revolution, just a guy with serious mental issues.
This feels like a way for the sequel to right the wrongs that the first Joker might have originated, and to make the character exploration less ambiguous.
In contrast, Lady Gaga’s Lee becomes the one who really wants to see the world burn, although she’s never able to escape her place as a textbook Manic Pixie Dream Girl – an eccentric female character who gives the male protagonist purpose, and his ideal of romance.
Gaga, who obviously delivers the movie’s most captivating music moments and offers some impressive make-up tips for this Halloween, deserved more than the movie allows her.
Ultimately, not even Lady Gaga’s star power and Joaquin Phoenix’s physical commitment can save a movie determined to doom itself.
There are fascinating ideas among the whims of Philipps’ moviemaking, from brutal displays of institutional violence to the deconstruction of superhero (or supervillain) myths. There is an admirable boldness in offering this version of the character, moving away from what made Joker so successful in the first place.
The ending packs a punch too, with an idea that might have made the whole movie worth it, but by that point it is too little too late.
Joker: Folie à Deux arrives in cinemas on October 4.
Deputy Movies Editor, Digital Spy
Mireia (she/her) has been working as a movie and TV journalist for over seven years, mostly for the Spanish magazine Fotogramas.
Her work has been published in other outlets such as Esquire and Elle in Spain, and WeLoveCinema in the UK.
She is also a published author, having written the essay Biblioteca Studio Ghibli: Nicky, la aprendiz de bruja about Hayao Miyazaki’s Kiki’s Delivery Service.
During her years as a freelance journalist and film critic, Mireia has covered festivals around the world, and has interviewed high-profile talents such as Kristen Stewart, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more. She’s also taken part in juries such as the FIPRESCI jury at Venice Film Festival and the short film jury at Kingston International Film Festival in London.
Now based in the UK, Mireia joined Digital Spy in June 2023 as Deputy Movies Editor.