Warning: this review contains spoilers
Five years after the financial and critical success of Todd Phillips’ Joker, the staff returns to deliver a sequel that has been in the works since 2022. The new addition has been highly anticipated due to its intriguing choice to turn the grim movie into a musical. However, with a Cinemascore of a D, there is an apparent disconnect between the film’s vision and what the audience was expecting, making Joker: Folie à Deux one of the biggest financial flops of the year.
The movie opens with a replica of a classic Warner Bros cartoon short, focused on the Joker’s split personality. The cartoon is very on-the-nose, driving home the point that the protagonist’s “Arthur” persona takes the fall for the actions of his dueling personality, the “Joker”. The plot of the rest of the movie is about Arthur dealing with the consequences of his choices from the end of the first film. This opening sequence illustrates one of the major flaws of the movie – its redundancy. Arthur’s split personality is a fairly straight-forward topic that the movie spells out very clearly for the audience again and again. The initial cartoon is an interesting idea, but is ultimately unnecessary.
Redundancy issues don’t end when the curtains close on the animated stage, however. They continue to plague the entire movie, turning well-intentioned ideas into key criticisms. The issue is never more apparent than when looking at the abundance of musical numbers. I found the idea of using song and dance numbers to depict Arthur’s fantastical disconnect to reality to be a bold, albeit effective choice. Yet, this idea could have been fully explored in three or four songs, rather than the ten-plus that ended up in the movie. Some of the musical scenes were loaded with meaningful lyrics pertaining to the film, along with amazing performances from the cast, while some, on the other hand, felt more like filler content. All the repeated content makes the movie feel as if the filmmakers took a few intriguing ideas and expanded them out into a two-hour narrative.
Lady Gaga was cast to play the co-lead, Lee Quinzel, due to her ability to add to the film through her musical talent. Her acting, however, really stands out, contributing to a greatly impressive cast performance across the board. Joaquin Phoenix reprises the role of Arthur Fleck with another brilliant display of acting, as he carefully maneuvers between a mentally ill outcast and a symbol of change for the city of Gotham. He again does a remarkable job of imitating the mannerisms and internal struggle of someone with a psychotic illness born into tragic circumstances.
One of the most common critiques of the film is its handling of Arthur’s character at the end of the film. After an amazing scene from Leigh Gill’s Gary Puddles illustrates the calamitous effects of Arthur’s actions as the Joker, Arthur quickly abandons his “Joker” persona. After committing six murders, and showing no previous remorse, Arthur all of the sudden is a changed man who gives in to the society around him. His resolution feels very forced and uncharacteristic of the man Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix so masterfully created through the rest of the two films.
Although I dislike the execution, I applaud the movie’s intention here. My favorite aspect of the film was the focus on Arthur’s insignificance, shining a light on the lack of empathy in the current world. I don’t believe it was necessary, however, for Arthur to wholly retreat from his flashy Joker counterpart to show his inconsequentiality to society. Even before stepping down from his Joker self, Arthur is continuously rejected by those closest to him. Lee is only using him for his fame. His lawyer publicly humiliated him in an attempt to win their case. Even his mom picked on him, telling others how he centered his whole life around a lie. Arthur faces the same reality as in the first movie – being shunned by a society who doesn’t care about him. The only difference is that this time people are pretending to care in an attempt to benefit from his advantageous position.
I admire the daring choice to end Arthur’s story with his death. There is no better way to show Arthur’s insignificance to society better than having the world he created kill him off and continue on.
Todd Phillips subtly places messages to the first movie’s misguided fans throughout the course of the film as well. First Lee’s character, a girl who has “amounted to nothing”, and is unhealthily obsessed with the Joker is a direct reflection of fans who walked out of the first film rooting for the Joker’s violence. When Arthur delivers his apology and reverts to his true personality, the courtroom audience begins to walk out, paralleling Phillips’ expectation of fan disappointment when he doubles down on the actual message of his art. I respect Phillips’ continued run of making bold and daring decisions for this sequel, regardless of its reception.
Lawrence Sher’s cinematography has only continued to improve over the years, and Joker: Folie à Deux is, in my opinion, his best work yet. Working again with renowned artist Jill Bogdanowicz, Sher provides a film that’s visuals build a rich fantasy inside Arthur’s mind to contrast the gloomy Gotham City. The striking images are one of the most noticeable and easily praisable aspects of the film.
Overall, Todd Phillips’ 2024 Joker sequel is constructed on well-intentioned ideas, but falls short in its delivery. There is a key questionable character choice, along with some what-feels-like filler content that weigh down the thought-provoking narrative.
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