Harley Quinn and the Joker, leading figures of a libertarian and anti-system movement. Image: Warner Bros.
Five years after the phenomenon, the continuation of Joker finally hits our screens. Titled Folie à Deuxthis psychological and musical thriller goes where you least expect it. We promise, we’ll talk about it without spoilers.
02.10.2024, 09:0502.10.2024, 10:38
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In 2019, the Joker by Todd Philipps deconstructed everything we knew about a comic book adaptation, winning prestigious awards in the process. The Joker, Batman’s iconic nemesis, became the protagonist of his own film, in the guise of Joaquin Phoenix, Oscar winner for this role.
The tragic story of Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) took place in the 1980s in the heart of a Gotham city inspired by the New York of that era, on the verge of bankruptcy and plagued by insecurity. In a “Scorcesian” atmosphere, since the film itself is a tribute to The King of Comedy (1982), miserabilism and more. Arthur Fleck is an asocial and puny comedian who we discover on the verge of schizophrenia. A succession of misfortunes will give birth to his sociopathic alter ego: the Joker.
The trailer:
Video: watson
Joker: Folie à Deux takes place exactly where the first part left us. Interned in the Arkham psychiatric hospital, Arthur Fleck, whose medical treatment has curbed his monstrous identity, patiently awaits his trial. Returned to the introverted state he once was, he has attracted as much sympathy from his prison guards who give him cigarettes in exchange for a joke as from his lawyer, who sees in him the victim of a traumatic past.
Outside, the Joker is still a beloved personality, having become an anti-system symbol since his appearance on national television, where he assassinated star host Murray Franklin (Robert de Niro). This mire of marginal supporters gathers every day around the court, where the clown must be tried for his murders.
Harleen Quinzel (Lady Gaga) is a patient who turns her encounter with the Joker into an obsession. Image: Warner Bros.
During his internment, Arthur will meet Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (Lady Gaga) during a music class, a patient who will discover a fascination for him. The two will get closer, which will awaken the Joker’s personality, and will find themselves in their shared madness…
Onward to the music
Joker first of the name included some dreamlike scenes, from the imagination of Arthur Fleck. In them, he projected himself as a hilarious comedian in a comedy club or on the television set of his mother’s favorite show. These scenes allowed the character to be projected into an idealized world, far from the mediocrity of his daily life. Madness at Deux embraces this aspect, through some sung passages of classics of American songreinterpreted either a cappella or in musical hall productions.
May those allergic to musical comedies rest assured, the film is not one however. The sung passages fit perfectly into the story, without ever taking the film away from the ambient realism. Todd Phillips uses this process sparingly, to the point that the musical aspect in no way harms the film, but does not add any added value either. Joker: Folie à Deux places its spectators in the dock and turns out to be far from a romance or a musical, it is actually closer to the trial filmwhose boredom can be felt as the film progresses.
If you like trial stories:
While the feature film is still bathed in the grayness of Gotham, between the walls of the prison and those of the courtroom, these musical scenes bring the flamboyance of the Joker, which opposes the miserable daily life of Arthur Fleck.
The songs range from classics from the golden age of musicals to 1970s folk. Image: Warner Bros.
This process also allows the arrival of Harley Quinn, a sort of Harlequin in the comics, in order to bring the female counterpart of the Joker to the screen in fantasized passages of what this duo could be in all its grace.
However, those hoping for a romantic odyssey between two sociopaths will be disconcerted. This sequel is not entertaining. It’s a dark, depressing film, lit at rare moments by these musical scenes.
They created a monster
Joker: Folie à Deux is the other side of the same coin. The one whose face is none other than the opus released in 2019. Joker told with an anarchist message the birth of an anti-hero figure constructed by the violence of society which at the same time denounced the rise of extremes.
The film is as much about his character as his “fans”. Image: Warner Bros.
Moreover, the film was a real financial success with its billion dollars at the worldwide box office and a critical success rewarded by two Oscars. However, the feature film also had less glorious repercussions by becoming a cultural phenomenonbeing interpreted as an ode to insurrectionary struggles.
The character became a protest emblem the year of his release. He found himself in the streets of Beirut in Hong Kong, but also in France, during the yellow vest uprising, in the form of masks and graffiti. It has even been made a symbol by incels (an English contraction of “involuntary celibates”), a subculture born on the Internet, deeply masculinist and misogynistic, which considers women responsible for their misfortunes. This Joker had become the face of the anti-systems both in the film and in our reality.
Todd Phillips created a monster and it was necessary to set it on fire. With this second opus, the director reappropriates his creature and goes where we least expect him. By making this sequel a terribly dark reflection on the cult of personality that revolves around his character, the director dismantles brick by brick everything that the first film had built.
A boldness to be saluted which risks to make clown fans cringeof those who still have not understood the essence of the character. Joker: Folie à Deux is not a film about the rise of the Joker, but about the descent into hell of Arthur Fleck, a man who only exists in the eyes of the world because of the monster inside him. The result is a profoundly sad work from which only pity emerges. You have been warned.
“Joker: Folie à Deux” by Todd Philipps hits novel screens on October 2, 2024. Duration: 138 minutes
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