Audiences all over the world have become familiar with the characters associated with Batman due to the consistent nature of updating and rebooting the character. The gothic and dark world of Gotham City has been explored an extraordinary amount of times as of recently, with Christian Bale, Ben Affleck and Robert Pattinson all portraying different versions of the iconic hero in the last decade or so. His most famous foe, the Joker, has been similarly updated with Heath Ledger, Jared Leto and more recently Barry Keoghan portraying the Clown Prince of Crime. It was a little refreshing then to see a film dedicated to the Joker back in 2019 with Joaquin Phoenix portraying the mad psychopath. Made for little money, and making a lot back, the film soon catapulted to instant classic status and now sits amongst films such as The Shawshank Redemption and The Shining as one of the best films ever made. A sequel was therefore inevitable.
In the defence of Phoenix and filmmaker Todd Phillips, there was a reluctance to create a sequel as Joker felt definitive and standalone. To mimic the success of the first film was impossible so Phillips and Phoenix instead offered to create a truly unique sequel in the form of a musical with Joker: Folie à Deux, which translates to “madness of two”. Lady Gaga portrays a new incarnation of Harley Quinn who falls in love with Arthur Fleck, aka The Joker, once again portrayed by Phoenix. The two meet in Arkham State Hospital just as Arthur is about to stand trial against the murders he committed in the previous film. His insanity is then tested as the question of who is the Joker is raised throughout the film.
The cinematography is outstanding, with a lot of subdued colours dominating the screen during the musical elements of the film. The film retains the bleak and colourless setting of Gotham from the previous film but it helps to balance the whimsical elements with the more serious elements. The acting from Phoenix and Gaga are also worth praising with both of them elevating their performances but remaining grounded too. Sadly apart from these elements the film does not deliver the same quality as the first film.
The story swaps between a prison drama and a courtroom drama, and the majority of the film is set in these confined quarters apart from the odd flight of fancy here and there. The characters are written rather dull and bland, not reaching the same heights as the first film. It is a shame to see a character and its legacy to be portrayed in this way. It almost goes against what the character stands for in the comics. The sense of chaos shortly passes and we get a look at a man and a woman who are mentally broken and unable to identify who they want to become. This isn’t your classic Joker and Harley Quinn story and that unfortunately lets the film down.
★★☆☆☆
2/5
Final Verdict:
Joker: Folie á Deux is definitely a mixed bag. On one hand it looks and captures the spirit of the first film in its cinematography alone. The story sadly doesn’t hold up and neither does the script, despite the best efforts of Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, both of which do a more than admirable job of delivering great performances. This sequel won’t live up to the same status as the first one but at least we get another look at this murky and dark world of Gotham.
Thanks for reading today’s blog!
Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions
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