FBW press release
The Joker is back. And with Harley Quinn at his side, he’s ready to bring down Gotham City. The sequel to the successful JOKER unites Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga in an acting and musical tour de force!
It wasn’t long ago that Arthur Fleck, in his identity as ‘Joker’, shot the host of the show on a live show. Now he is awaiting trial in Gotham Prison. The guards mistreat and mock him and Arthur vegetates in resignation. But one day he meets Harley Quinn (Lee) – and falls head over heels in love with the woman who encourages him to no longer repress the power of the Joker. As Arthur’s trial gets closer and closer, both of them isolate themselves more and more from reality and move in a dream world in which nothing and no one can separate them.
Like the first film by Todd Philipps about one of the most famous antagonists from the Batman universe, the sequel is also a cinematic event that captivates the audience. It only takes a first look at Joaquin Phoenix in the role of the delusionally disturbed Arthur Fleck, aka Joker, to make it clear that this is an acting masterpiece that is unparalleled. From introverted depression in the quiet moments to explosive manic phases as Joker, Phoenix succeeds in every single nuance, both in facial expressions and gestures. In Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn (Lee) he finds a congenial and absolutely equal partner who raises the screw of madness to unimagined heights when interacting with him. An unrivaled highlight are the musical interludes that Todd Philipps and his co-author Scott Silver repeatedly incorporate into the story. To jukebox classics like “That’s Entertainment,” “Close to you” or “For once in my life,” the actors, equipment and camera work deliver an absolute tour de force in which you can completely lose yourself, just like the characters. Despite the great achievements of all the production craftsmen, the power of the story lies in the tragedy of the main character, which Phoenix embodies with great sensitivity. Fleck is a lonely, lost person who never had a chance in a society full of egocentricity and cruelty. As a Joker, he literally attracts the violence of this society and, as an oppressed man, creates a monster that he himself, as the second part of the film suggests, can no longer control. It is this level of story that makes JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX more than just another anti-hero adventure from a well-known superhero cosmos. The film, like its predecessor, is also a mirror of a society that is in danger of succumbing to darkness. A consistently courageous film that dares to move between genres and skillfully subverts every expectation of the audience.
