Joker: Folie à Deux is All Style and Flair, Nothing More

Image Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

By Luis Zonenberg 

If you can believe it, it has now been over five years since Joaquin Phoenix graced the screen as Joker. He not only took a clean sweep of all the acting awards, but the film was also a commercial success, grossing well over 1 billion dollars against a $55 million production budget.  Despite director Todd Phillips and company claiming it was a standalone feature, the studio decided to greenlight a sequel and doubled, no, quadrupled down with a $200 million production budget. 

Phoenix returns as Arthur Fleck aka the Joker, now joined this time with Lady Gaga as the famed Harley Quinn. We follow their star-crossed romance as both are recuperating inmates in Arkham Asylum, each finding joy every day through the sound of music, and no, not the movie. But they soon find their world turned upside down when Arthur is put on trial for his crimes from the previous film, facing the death penalty if he’s found guilty. 

Considering that Joaquin Phoenix took home an Oscar for his portrayal of the Joker last time, I think it was safe to say that he’d bring another stellar performance, and that he does. Lady Gaga gives her all as always and does her best with what surprisingly little the script offers her. Both have pretty good chemistry together, and you fully believe that these two delusional maniacs are smitten with each other. Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, and Leigh Gill also give excellent performances, adding weight and believability to the world. 

The cinematography is outstanding though and was without a doubt one of the highlights of the film for me. The grand scope and vibrancy of the visuals perfectly complemented the musical aesthetics of the movie, adding very rich depth and color. I should also mention that I saw this in IMAX, with some sequences expanding to fill the tall screen and making it a much more immersive experience for me. 

Sadly where the film falls short is the story, partly because there isn’t one. Let me rephrase that: they try to follow up with the consequences of the last one with a court drama case and a romance that causes danger for not only them but everyone around them. But it is all set up with no payoff, as each storyline goes nowhere. 

The crux of the movie hinges on this toxic, or even, bad romance, between Arthur and Harley. We follow their relationship as Arthur gets put on trial, struggling to embrace his “Joker” personality as people rally outside for him. We even see how this affects his life at Arkham, with numerous guards abusing him with seemingly no consequences. 

What did all this amount to? Essentially two and a half hours of nothing. Now I did hear rumors that some scenes including Phoenix and Gaga were reshot, but that should only mean to improve the film, not to take anything away from it. Stunning visuals and some neat songs accompany our two wonderful leads in Joker: Folie à Deux, but sadly its story falls short when compared to its groundbreaking predecessor. 

Rating: ★★ of four 

Spoilers:

Towards the end of the film, the court finds him guilty but a bombing practically kills everyone there but Fleck, which makes that storyline pointless. Fleck then evades the police and races to find Harley, only to find that she loves the “Joker” aspect of him and not the real him, so that romance ends up going nowhere. When Arthur goes back to prison, one of the inmates quite randomly decides to stab Arthur, leaving him fatally wounded as the camera lingers on his dead body. 

Considering where all the storylines ended, I was asking myself constantly what the point of this film was. It added little to the original, if anything it took more away from it by having Arthur deny his identity as the Joker and just die instead. Rumors of reshoots do make more sense and I can see how they might’ve played a role in this, but I largely pivot towards the success of the original and how Warner Bros. merely saw an opportunity to capitalize on it, which to me would explain how chaotic and pointless this film turned out to be.