Joker: Folie a Deux Review
It’s tough to get a handle on who this movie is for. The last one might have been polarising, but it was also fantastic. This one seems intent on pleasing nobody; and takes its bloody time doing so!
Arthur Fleck aka Joker (Joaquin Phoenix) is preparing for his trial from prison, after having murdered five people in the events of the last film. He meets Lee (Lady Gaga), in the mental ward of Arkham Asylum, and the two hit it off. While his lawyers battle it out in court to have Fleck recognised as a distinct personality from Joker, and Lee tries to push him ever further towards the mask, Fleck must come to grips with his own conclusion; is he man, or myth?
Directed again by Todd Phillips, this second installment follows a film that premiered amidst a storm of controversy. But when it did premiere, whether you thought it was a rallying call for right wing incels, or a needlessly dour and dreary take on a beloved supervillain, or an insensitive look at mental illness, you couldn’t deny; the movie was good. Hell, Joaquin Phoenix won an Oscar for his performance!
This second one completely shits the bed.
Now, to be clear, none of this is in any way down to anything but the story being told and the directorial choices. Phoenix is once again transformative and fantastic. Lady Gaga continues to make it clear she is an iconic and talented actress. The visuals are gorgeous, the new Arri Alexa 65 making full use of its extra sensor size. The costuming is great, the hair and makeup stunning. It is just the story that is so viscerally inciting.
Partly, that can be put down to the lore bending. The ending of this film shocks in its choices, but more so because it infuriates the viewer into thinking “why have I bothered watching two movies about this?” instead of having anything to actually say.
Partly, it can be put down to the tonal choices associated with the singing. The jukebox-esque vibe of this ‘musical’ delivers no real narrative benefit, and while thematically it doesn’t make sense for Joker or Lee to be good singers, the endlessly grating bad singing really starts to grind your gears; especially when it subjugates the otherwise wonderful musical talent of both performers.
For the most part, however, the flaws can be put down to the fact that nothing happens. This movie encapsulates a short trial for Joker, one that briefly delves into whether he has a mental illness, what the severity of that illness is, and how his mother treated him. But this was all done before in the last film, with much more nuance. It makes this movie have nothing of consequence to do, and nothing of consequence to say.
There are flashes of intrigue. Lee and Joker forming a romance in prison, the two trying to escape, an explosive courtroom scene and a wild cab ride; all of it glossed over so quickly by Phillips (and all better plot threads to follow) in favour of more, terrible, interminable singing and a re-prosecution of his previous films’ themes. It makes this 2 hour 20 minute movie an unbearable slog.
The first Joker might have been ‘dangerous’, but one thing it wasn’t was boring. Sadly, the same can’t be said for this needless, infuriating sequel.
