Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)

Yes, its been over a year. Hopefully this post is the first of many to come but only time will tell. Below is my review of Joker: Folie à Deux – enjoy!

Before even having a chance to see this film, my expectations had been significantly lowered due to the barrage of critiques ridiculing the film for a lack of substance, ultimately landing the movie a score of just 33% on Rotten Tomatoes. As a result, despite being a fan of the first film as well as a fan of Lady Gaga following her performance in ‘A Star is Born’, I was not majorly concerned with watching this film. That said, yesterday I did go to watch the film, and I did my best to cast aside any bias in opinion stemming from the media backlash. However, I suspect that the dramatically lowered expectation I had going into this screening served to make it a more enjoyable experience, being pleasantly surprised whenever my preconceived expectations faltered.

Joker: Folie à Deux, picks up where its predecessor left off. Arthur Fleck (AKA Joker), now incarcerated for the murders of 5 people including TV Host, Murray Franklin. Due to this televised assassination, Arthur has become a celebrity and a symbol of the oppressed, encouraging retaliation against Gotham’s societal hierarchy. Inside the prison walls, Arthur appears to have reverted to his docile, confirmative self which we saw at the start of the first film. We are introduced to a silent Arthur, emphasised by the guards with their frequent requests for a joke to no avail. Exploring his prison experience further we learn he now takes mandatory medication, perhaps the reason for his new temperament, devoid of anger instead filled with emptiness. We further learn of the guard’s exploitation of him, exercising their power over this famed icon of Gotham’s angered, subdued citizens. 

The film is anchored around Arthur’s televised court trial and his relationship with Lee (Harley Quinn), whose existence we are encouraged to question. Arthur’s relationship with Lee, who adores Joker for his unchained, rebellious perception, as well as the prison guard’s rejection of his ability to change, marked by their incessant requests for a joke, seem to act as catalysts imploring Arthur to readopt his Joker persona and live up to the expectations of others. During his trial, Arthur, beguiled by the media attention he has garnered begins to give spotlight to Joker, eventually electing to represent himself and wear his now iconic clown makeup and suit. For a while, Arthur revels in his outward perception, however, this soon crumbles down with Arthur appearing dissatisfied with constantly living to please others while sacrificing his pride and true self. This culminates in Arthur admitting he perpetrated the crimes he was accused of, making any plea for insanity on his defence redundant. With this rejection of his Joker persona, Lee exits the courtroom, only in love with Joker and not Arthur.

The film then takes a seemingly superfluous turn as while the jury’s verdict is being read, finding Arthur guilty on all counts of which he was being tried against, the courtroom is attacked as an explosion causes the outer wall to come crumbling down. This facilitates Arthur’s escape where he finds Lee and unsuccessfully attempts to reconcile their relationship before being arrested once more. Arthur’s escape only affirming what we already know, that Lee is only in love with Arthur’s famous persona and that Arthur no longer affiliates himself with this character as he wanders the streets spiritless. 

We next see Arthur back in prison, appearing mildly content and comfortable with his new life where he is approached by a fellow prisoner, who after reciting the same joke Arthur once made to Murray on live television, proceeds to stab Arthur who then dies as his murderer carves a smile into his face. This almost poetic, cyclical end to the film is powerful, highlighting Arthur’s impact as Joker as outlasting him with his character strongly resonating with a significant portion of Gotham’s unheard citizens.

It's been a while, so I can’t remember if I usually create reviews so full of spoilers which essentially recite the film in its entirety, but that is just what felt natural when writing this. Aside from providing you with a plot summary of the film, I thought I would also briefly speak on the cinematography of the film as well as its powerful music composed by Hildur Guðnadóttir. The film is visually stunning, much like Liv Hnatow, with very impactful shots demonstrating Jokers fractured mindset separated by fantasy and reality. The film’s title, “Folie à deux” prompted me to consider the parallels between this film and French New Wave cinema. The film has frequent musical interruptions exposing the fantastical lives Joker and Lee both desire, often seamlessly integrated with the audience only learning this to be an insight to Arthur’s mind after the scene ends. This being reminiscent of French New Wave cinema with directors such as Jean-Luc Godard pioneering this disjointed style of film, detached from reality. The music was hugely impactful in enhancing these scenes, perfectly depicting the strong emotional state and passion of Arthur.

Despite that being a relatively long review, I did not include much independent analysis. Ah well, maybe next time – I have other work to be getting on with for now. Overall, I enjoyed the film, predominantly due to its powerful cinematography, acutely attuned musical score and the moving performance of Joaquin Phoenix. However, the film did lack in its storyline with little action taking place and many avenues left unexplored, especially in scenes where Jokers childhood abuse began to be discussed but were cut short, seeming to be a missed opportunity to add depth to both the film and the character. I do not agree with the critique which met the film’s release. While it did not live up to the levels of its predecessor, it certainly was not worthy of its reception. I now need to get back to my uni work, this was fun – maybe see you again some time soon!

Movie Rating: 6.2/10