The exact nature of Joker: Folie À Deux has been up in the air ever since it was first announced back in 2019. Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck was never intended to be the supervillain sort, with writer/director Todd Phillips confirming on numerous occasions that Fleck would never be the Clown Prince of Crime known for trading blows with Batman. The sequel's casting of Lady Gaga as Joker’s love interest Harley Quinn raised even more questions, particularly when coupled with rumours that the film may even be a musical.
The first thing to clarify is, in spite of comments from Phillips, Gaga and co-writer Scott Silver insisting otherwise, Joker: Folie À Deux is absolutely a musical, complete with more than a dozen jukebox song-and-dance numbers, some with considerable choreography, all with live vocals by Phoenix, Gaga or both.
The second surprise is that this continuation of 2019’s controversial, incel-magnet blockbuster is not only smarter and sharper than the first, but also markedly more tasteful. If you've ever worn Joker makeup or shouted one of his ‘catchphrases’ in public, then Joker: Folie À Deux is directed at you; an unmistakable effort from Phillips, Phoenix and the rest of the team to reject, and even condemn the worst of their fans.
This is evident even from the film’s basic plot, which concerns the sensationalised ‘Trial of the Joker’, both literally as Arthur faces the death penalty for the six murders he committed in Part 1, but also meta-textually as Phillips and Silver revisit several of the first film’s most twisted or misconstrued scenes in a more humane and socially conscious light. These sections pit Arthur and his defence attorney (Catherine Keener) against several bit players returning from the first film, being broken up intermittently by elaborate dream sequences depicting through an abstract space the romance between Arthur and Gaga’s ‘Lee’.
The format is hard to beat in terms of sheer entertainment as Phillips and Silvers borrow here from courtroom dramas and Fred Astaire pictures in the same way the original took from King of Comedy and Taxi Driver. Phoenix in particular is better even than before as a man whose supposed dual-personalities (the basis for his plea) war across his every tick, smile and vocal inflection. Gaga matches him as best she can playing Lee, but the character is kept at arm’s length, only ever revealing as much about herself as she wants Arthur to know. Consequently, the performance occasionally fades in contrast to Phoenix’s dazzlingly neurotic and physical reprise.
Where Gaga does shine is in the film’s various musical numbers which, while all sung live to the effect that performers feel rusty and untrained, are considerably impressive production pieces; an early sequence wherein Arthur and Lee waltz through a fire and subsequent manhunt in Arkham stands out, as does Phoenix’s unforgettable take on Shirley Bassett’s ‘The Joker’, the context for which shall not be spoiled here.
Oscar-winning composer Hildur Guðnadóttir is not left out of the fun either, getting to assemble new, more raw and off-kilter instrumentations to run alongside each melody, going on then to weave them into her iconic score. It’s an exceptional bit of sound design, and effectively sells the idea that Arthur’s fantasies of romance and supervillainy are seeping into the very real trial before him.
The most divisive element of Joker: Folie À Deux won’t be the show-tunes however, nor will it be the more politically-conscious courtroom sequences. All of those will be forgotten by the film’s dissenters come the third act, which suggests certain narrative directions in-line with the original before dramatically subverting them to surprisingly melancholic effect. Unlike the original, no one will leave this sequel under the impression that Arthur Fleck is any kind of supervillain, not even his supporters. With a wider catalogue of genres and tropes to play with, Joker: Folie À Deux is a whole lot more fun than its broody and edgy predecessor, but it is also significantly more interesting for being aware, and perhaps even fearful of its titular star’s long and hateful shadow.
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