From Street Clown to Court Jester

Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga in 
"Joker: Folie à Deux"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

Five years ago, director Todd Phillips delivered a disturbing, yet fascinating examination of Batman’s arch-nemesis in “Joker.”  Playing out like a psychological thriller, Joaquin Phoenix portrayed the title character in a way we’ve never seen, bringing out a blazing performance that invited us into an interpretation of Gotham City that reflected the griminess of late-‘70s/early-‘80s New York City in such a way that got under your skin every bit as much as the lead performance.  Given how Phillips was mainly known for directing comedies before this, “Joker” offered a new depth into the filmmaker’s capabilities that showed something that was far, far removed from his usual style.

Phillips now returns to direct the sequel, “Joker: Folie à Deux,” this time venturing into this mythology in the form of a musical thriller.  As a film that’s vastly different from what came before, it has its flaws, but is kept afloat by its visual designs and two central performances.  

Two years after the events of the first film, Arthur Fleck (aka Joker) is in Arkham State Hospital awaiting trial for his crimes.  While there, he befriends fellow patient Harleen Quinzel (Lady Gaga).  As the two form a romance, they’ll indulge in each other’s delusions to have the world see who they really are.

Phoenix does just as well as he did in the first film when it comes to showing his severely damaged character.  He exhibits an Arthur who’s reserved in his confinement, while still showing glimpses of the cracked mentality that lingers beneath him.  However, it’s his courtroom scenes and musical numbers where Phoenix gets to showcase Arthur’s true Joker persona, where we see more of the man he became at the end of the first movie.  When he’s put on the world’s stage, Phoenix displays Arthur's psychotic showmanship that’s been building up in him that he wants to unleash upon Gotham. In the five years that have passed since he last played this role, Phoenix hasn’t lost any of the terrifying rage that plagues his character, ensuring that your eyes won’t be on anything else but him as he grabs each of his scenes by the collar and throttles them.

Although Harleen Quinzel isn’t very developed in the film, Gaga still does what she can to provide a memorable rendition of Joker’s infamous love interest who takes to his destruction dreams.  Just as she accomplished with her breakout film performance in “A Star is Born,” Gaga gets to display both her acting and singing abilities in portraying a character who shares Arthur’s need to be noticed.  She exhibits fine chemistry with Phoenix as she talks and sings with him, showing a desire to want to build a chaotic life with him.  This is Gaga’s third top-billing role, and she continues to prove that she could have a film career that’s every bit as successful as that of her music.  The concert stage might be her first home, but the big screen could easily be her second.

The main issue with the film is the screenplay by Phillips and Scott Silver, who co-wrote the first film.  With this movie being over two hours, there’s not a lot of story to make that runtime worthwhile.  Pretty much the whole movie goes between Arkham and the courthouse, and while these scenes really give the cast many chances to put their hearts into the material and have some engaging interactions, the story is pretty much kept in the same place.  Although there might be a few too many musical numbers inserted into the story, they offer a look into the minds of Joker and Harleen, all while providing some energy to the narrative in the middle of the constant back-and-forth between the two main locations of the film.  

Despite the underwhelming screenplay, Phillips still manages to craft a movie that has the same strong technical aspects as the first movie.  To score the film, he brings back Hildur Guðnadóttir, who delivers music that really makes you feel the dark nature that permeates Gotham and the mind of the Joker.  In terms of visuals, Phillips re-teams with Lawrence Sher, who provided the camerawork for the previous “Joker” and every Phillips movie since “The Hangover.”  Aside from the eye-catching imagery of the musical numbers and some subtle motifs that reflect aspects of the characters, a highlight of his lensing is a superb single-take sequence during the movie’s finale.  It’s a tense scene that drags you into the citywide tumultuousness that the Joker spawns.  There’s also accomplished production design from Mark Friedberg (another “Joker” collaborator) that has you experience the griminess of the spaces that Joker and Harleen occupy, as well as the flashy Broadway-esque set designs of the musical numbers.  Even with the relatively thin story, it’s nevertheless intriguing to see Phillips and his team try something that we haven’t seen in his other movies.

While “Joker: Folie à Deux” is a few steps down from what came before, the pairing of Phoenix and Phillips have at least given us their sparks of vision in the ever-evolving Batman mythology.

Grade: B-