Viviana García |
London (EFE).- Lady Gaga brings to life in the second film about the ‘Joker’ (the joker) the new adaptation of Harley Quinn, a character that inspires fear because “it provokes someone who has mental problems”, although ” Their motivations are not always bad,” said the American actress and singer in an interview with EFE.
Lady Gaga, 38, takes on the role of Harley, called ‘Lee’ in ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’, director Todd Phillips’ sequel to the character from the world of Batman, who this time becomes a psychological musical focusing on Arthur Fleck/Joker’s (Joaquin Phoenix) relationship with Harley while the two are held at Arkham State Psychiatric Hospital.
Arthur, waiting to be prosecuted for the murder of several people, falls in love with Lee to the point that he accepts and follows all the explosions of madness that she has to provoke him, such as trying to burn down the center where they are detained.
Lee’s obsession with ‘Joker’
This Lee is obsessed with Arthur’s other personality, that of the enormously popular comedian ‘Joker’, and she even asks him not to take the medication prescribed to control his madness so that the clown that she admires so much can emerge from him.
“She helps the audience really see it. And it’s complicated because you don’t always know what he’s thinking and you’re not always sure of his motivations. “She is really unpredictable and I think that is a fascinating place,” Lady Gaga told EFE.
He acknowledged that there are facets of Lee that scare him, “one of them is that he is provoking someone who has mental problems and is trying to attract Joker.”
The director also referred to this sense, telling EFE that “the problem that Harley encounters in this film is that she is in love with Joker, but has no interest in Arthur.”
However, Lady Gaga considered that the character “is not only a villain, I think she is also an interesting human being, that perhaps her motivations are not always bad and that makes her more complicated and more real. “All of her actions are in response to where life has taken her,” he added.
“I think that by looking at Arthur and Joker through Lee’s eyes, you realize how important he is in this world and in Todd Phillips’ Gotham City. She helps the audience really see it. And it’s complicated because you don’t always know what he’s thinking and you’re not always sure of his motivations,” she insisted.
“She is really unpredictable,” stressed Lady Gaga, who when receiving EFE in a London hotel was wearing clown touches, with heavily painted eyes, a striped sweater and black high-platform heels.
The musical contribution
This second film by Todd – which opens in Spain this October 4 – provides an emotional tone to the main character through music and well-known songs – such as by Frank Sinatra or The Carpenters – and that both Lee and the ‘Joker sing in several scenes from the film, which allow us to liven up this intensely psychological film.
The director acknowledged that he provided the musical overtones after speaking with Phoenix and with the intention of showing Arthur’s sentimental side, from which love should come.
Actress and singer Lady Gaga at the Venice Film Festival. EFE/EPA/Fabio Frustaci
“We thought that, if we are going to make another movie and he is going to know what love at least represents in his life, maybe that music that is inside him will come out,” Todd told EFE.
The issue of mental health
This director’s film goes beyond showing the world of ‘Joker’, but sends a message about how mental illnesses should be addressed, the impact on adulthood of the abuse that a person can suffer in childhood (Arthur was victim of abuse by her mother) and the consequences for society.
The director “is asking everyone to stop for a minute and pay attention to someone who is different and be willing to see, you know, all of their qualities, whether they are surprising qualities, things that can teach us something,” Lady Gaga said.
“I think that when you stop, you may be able to understand something about someone (…) that you would have overlooked and perhaps would have ignored,” he highlighted.
