JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX (2024)

Genre: Thriller/Drama
Director: Todd Phillips
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Zazie Beetz, Steve Coogan, Harry Lawtey, Leigh Gill, Ken Leung, Jacob Lofland, Bill Smitrovich, Sharon Washington
Runtime: 2 hrs 18 mins
Rating: NC16
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website: https://www.jokermovie.com.sg

Opening Day: 3 October 2024

Synopsis: Joker: Folie À Deux finds Arthur Fleck institutionalized at Arkham awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker. While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love, but also finds the music that's always been inside him.

Movie Review:

How can something so right go so wrong? That was the refrain many fans had stepping into the much anticipated, now-derided sequel to what was, in our opinion, one of the most mesmerizing portraits of the titular comic-book villain. And indeed, after seeing Todd Phillips’ unexpected follow-up to his 2019 vigilante extravaganza, that frustration is perfectly understandable – not only is ‘Joker: Folie A Deux’ an antithesis of what its predecessor was, it is also frankly pointless, which we think is its even greater folly.

Picking up two years after where we left off, the movie sets Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) up as a shadow of his former self. Slumped, sad and alarmingly emaciated, Arthur dutifully goes through the routines at the maximum-security wing of Arkham State Hospital, while awaiting his trial for the five murders he committed previously. Not surprisingly, Arthur has to contend with a bunch of sadistic guards, and although it does build up to a brutal confrontation, those hoping that Arthur will do what he did with Robert DeNiro’s talk show host Murray Franklin in the last movie will be sorely disappointed.

Like we said, Phillips and his co-writer Scott Silver seem almost apologetic for their earlier nihilism here – that is the only reason we can fathom why they would make Arthur and us sit through successive courtroom scenes to have Arthur come face-to-face with those traumatised by his acts of terror, including his former neighbour Sophie Dumond (Zazie Beetz) and his former co-worker Gary Puddles (Leigh Gill). While the narrative does tease the enigma of whether Arthur suffers from dissociative identity disorder, neither Phillips nor Silver seem to muster the conviction to mount a suitably clever psychological tale.

What ‘Joker: Folie A Deux’ ends up being foolishly obsessed with is the unlikely romance between Arthur and fellow Arkham patient Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga), sparking a series of musical numbers that never quite justify their existence. It is no secret that Lee will eventually become some version of the character in DC lore known as Harley Quinn, but there is neither enough to demonstrate her transformation through Arthur nor for that matter how Arthur discovers his conscience through his newfound genuine love for Lee.

It is not enough that we know Lee is in love not so much with Arthur as with his alter-ego; it is perhaps even more important that we feel their passion, disillusionment and ultimately despair when Arthur and Lee finally realise that they will not find happiness with each other. Unfortunately, much of that is lost amidst the lengthy courtroom drama, or amidst the improvised musical set-pieces that mostly come off flat and uninspiring. Both Phillips and the stars have gone on record to say how they wanted these numbers to feel less choreographed and more raw, but the outcome is enervating.

Just as lacklustre is the chemistry (or lack thereof) between Phoenix and Gaga – that is in part due to Phoenix deciding to swap his character’s underdog anger for a striking, wounded tenderness, and in part because Gaga doesn’t quite seem to know what to do with her underwritten part. As irresponsible as it sounds, we wish the movie had simply respected and preserved Arthur’s former anarchist persona, in order to make his team-up with Lee truly pop; that would at least have been more engaging to watch than their muted tryst and separation on display here.

As much as we’d like to give Phillips credit for taking a wild, stylistic swing with this sequel, it is sadly as much praise as this misfire deserves. There is no raison d’etre for Arthur’s conscience, and without that clarity of purpose, it simply comes across as being deliberately contemptuous of the fans who had made its predecessor such a runaway success in the first place. And likewise, as brilliant as it may have sounded to pair Phoenix and Gaga, whatever wisdom remains stuck in concept and not in execution, especially given their moribund relationship in the wake of Arthur’s desire to atone for his previous sins.

To be sure, ‘Joker: Folie A Deux’ isn’t as disastrous as some have made it out to be, but coming from a US$1 billion, Oscar-winning, international festival-favourite to this is upsetting in its own right, so even if not all the hate is justified, it is perfectly understandable. Indeed, when you turn all that love for ‘Joker’ and all that he stood for against society’s hypocrisies into a joke in and of itself, what else really could you expect from the audience?

Movie Rating:

(The antithesis of what 'Joker' stood for, 'Joker: Folie A Deux' rightfully deserves the hate and derision it has received from fans, and is worst of all, an utterly pointless endeavour)

Review by Gabriel Chong