Director: Todd Phillips
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga
Runtime: 138 minutes
Rating: 2 / 5
When “Joker” came out 5 years ago, it felt like a breath of fresh air. Sure, it was technically a “comic book movie” since the titular character was from DC Comics’s “Batman” series. But it was an original story, untethered to the now-abandoned DC Extended Universe. There was no overwrought mythology of prequels and TV shows that one needed to know to get the story. Rather than bland, mind-numbing CGI, we had thoughtful directing and cinematography. Instead of a predictable, cookie-cutter plot, we got a dark, introspective story of a lonely man who ultimately seeks revenge on a society that he feels has ignored and humiliated him. In Joaquin Phoenix, we got a performance that was both saddening and unsettling, rivaling Heath Ledger’s infamous performance in “The Dark Knight” (and notching him an Oscar for Best Actor). We even got a fun dancing sequence!
So how has director Todd Philips decided to follow up with a sequel? Apparently by taking inspiration from that last bit and making it a jukebox musical.
Don’t let them full you, Dear Reader – “Joker: Folie à Deux” (a French term referring to a shared psychosis or delusion between two people) is a musical. This fact is arguably buried in promos, part of a recent trend of Hollywood films disguising their musical intentions in their trailers. And that’s understandable. Musicals are divisive, and for every big success (“La La Land”), there are many flops (“In the Heights”). They’re also seen as turning off male audiences (you know, the exact kind that would want a “Joker” sequel).
Movies like this are hard to review because it’s hard to know what to measure it against. Do I view it as a musical? Is it an action movie? A courtroom drama? A deep character study? “Folie à Deux” seems to be trying to be all of those things, possessing a split personality much like the titular character himself.
First, the plot: “Folie à Deux” picks up two years after “Joker”. Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is being held in Arkham Asylum as he awaits trial for the multiple murders he committed last time. Initially despondent and subdued, he seems resigned to his eventual conviction – until, that is, he meets meets fellow inmate / mental patient Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (Lady Gaga). Her obsession and their “love”(?) reawakens Fleck’s dissociative personality disorder and his “Joker” persona, much to the delight of Fleck’s loyal legion of fans who are eagerly awaiting his trial.
At it’s core, it’s a courtroom drama intermixed with song and dance numbers. At times, “Folie à Deux” feels less like “Batman” and more like “Chicago” (there’s even a tap dancing scene reminiscent of Richard Gere’s). The musical setpieces – mostly fantasies inside Fleck’s head – are standards from Golden Age musicals with Phoenix and Lady Gaga singing and dancing. The results here are mixed; some are entertaining (like a sequence where Phoenix dances around the courtroom while Gaga smears a bloody smile on her face) while others are overlong and add little to the film. The upbeat tunes about love and smiling contrast with the violence on screen, creating an eerie irony that highlights Fleck’s madness. Unfortunately, the whole thing is undermined by the fact that Phoenix is not a very good singer and Gaga appears to be purposely singing worse in an effort to “unlock her character’s voice”.
The plot, meanwhile, is threadbare. Most of the action happens in Fleck’s mind, and aside from an exciting (though ultimately anticlimactic) final 20 minutes, there isn’t much of consequence happening. The result is that there aren’t real stakes. There are some flitting messages about media manipulating public opinion and how trials are a literal “media circus”, but it gets muddled amidst the musical daydreams. Like the tap dance routine, “Chicago” already did it, and better.
What’s most disappointing is that there’s clearly a lot of talent and passion behind this project. Both of the stars are bringing their A-game here; Gaga puts in the best performance yet as the manipulative and creepy-yet-seductive Lee, and Phoenix, with his gaunt frame and ribcage poking out, has gone full method acting. There’s a palpable chemistry between them with a kind of creepy genuine love you almost want to root for. Expect to see plenty of Joker/Lee couples costumes this Halloween.
Behind the camera, it’s clear Todd Phillips and cinematographer Lawrence Sher know what they’re doing. There are excellent uses of light and shadows, creating an unsettling atmosphere. Even the supposedly “happy” dance numbers cast a sinister shadow, evidence of a filmmaking duo who are at the top of their game.
Unfortunately, it all gets jumbled up in a movie that often gets lost inside its own head. Phillips himself has said he is “addicted to risk”, that he wanted to do something “dangerous”, and having Joker dance around to Fred Astaire numbers is definitely that. It’s a shame that the result will almost certainly fall flat with fans.
About two-thirds of the way through the film, during one of Joker’s musical fantasies, Harley Quinn declares, “Let’s give the people what they want”. Perhaps Todd Phillips should have taken his own character’s advice.