Released: 4th October 2024 (UK and US)
Length: 138 Minutes
Certificate: 15
Director: Todd Phillips
Staring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Zazie Beetz, Harry Lawtey and Leigh Gill
Back in 2019, few believed a standalone Joker movie would be successful; thanks to its adult-oriented approach and an excellent performance from Joaquin Phoenix, WB and Todd Phillips struck gold. Five years later and the sequel has taken a staggering downturn.
Straight after the events of the first film, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix has been sent to Arkham Asylum with the so-called trial of the century just around the corner. As he grapples with his actions and newfound infamy, the Joker meets Harleen Quinzel (Lady Gaga) and the two quickly begin a close relationship. As the duo plans a grand future together, Folie à Deux quickly falls on its face; Joker worked so well because it delved into the thorny issue of mental health and how it twisted Arthur into becoming a violent criminal. The successor throws most of that out the window in favour of a bland switch between prison and courtroom drama. Bafflingly, the filmmakers chose to make Folie à Deux a musical, a terrible fit for such a violent and unhinged protaganist. Arthur’s character has been diminished heavily and his connections with fellow prisoners and wider society have been thoroughly neutered. The trial feels completely toothless with a hollow version of Harvey Dent (Harry Lawtey) and an outcome that is far too easy to predict from the outset. The wider narrative goes nowhere and the ending is particularly insulting; it cuts off the tale of Arthur Fleck with no real conclusion and makes the entire plot feel pointless.
With two major stars taking top billing, there’s a lot of pressure placed on the lead performances. Both Phoenix and Gaga fall well short from an acting standpoint. When compared to the deep, multi-layered performance from the 2019 film, Arthur has no development or growth. So little of the character’s mental instability has made it into the sequel, making Joaquin’s performance feel very hollow this time. He gives his best in the musical moments, but there’s not much more to it than that. It’s a given that Lady Gaga has a natural talent for song and dance, but she brings so little to the character of Harleen Quinzel. This rendition portrays her as a kindred spirit, an arsonist who takes a liking to Arthur. There is no build-up to their relationship here; they meet a couple of times in Arkham Asylum and suddenly decide to share several musical notes and an intimate moment together. Add in a completely insignificant turn from Brendan Gleeson as a prison guard and you have a cast that fails to deliver. On occasion, some of the returning characters are performed well, most notably Gary Puddles (Leigh Gill) who conveys the same fear he felt in the first film. All it does is remind the audience that they could be watching something better.
Theatricality is central to Folie à Deux’s presentation; if it were applied to a more appropriate context, the lighting and staging would be more of an asset. There’s a heavy use of spotlight colours, classical music and vibrant outfits which contrast with the more sterile look of the prison and courthouse. As it stands, the moments where Arthur and Harleen break out into song feel really distracting and don’t add to their characterisation in any way. Each sequence represents the characters breaking from reality and imagining a future as beloved performers. On occasion, this does tie into the action on screen, but it still stands as a poor choice that takes away from the production. Sudden and horrific crimes have been replaced by tone-deaf songs that veer away from the style that made Joker so impactful.
It’s hard to watch Joker: Folie à Deux go so wrong; the misguided choice to make it a musical, the shallow characters and drab plot all combine for a truly awful sequel. Not even the biggest comic book fans will glean much enjoyment from this film. Stay well away and pretend this follow-up doesn’t exist.
Rating: 1.5/5 Stars (Bad)
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