Review: Joker: Folie à Deux turned into a musical. Why?!

It was supposed to be one of the biggest movies of the year. The first one Joker with Joaquin Phoenix from 2019 grossed over a billion dollars, won two Oscars and most importantly showed the unexpected path that led to the birth of one of the greatest comic book villains. At the same time, he himself was not comic at all, on the contrary, he was raw and extremely unpleasant. Expected sequel Joker: Folie à Deux but this turns everything a bit on its head and the musical with Lady Gaga has nothing like its predecessor.

In the first movie, the Joker as a character was at the peak of insane powers. The mentally ill Arthur Fleck was gradually transformed into the titular villain in it, and everything was rounded off by his murderous live performance. This time, however, there is no Joker torn from the chains of society. There’s just a broken Arthur Fleck in Arkham Correctional Institution, where he waits as a baby and meekly awaiting trial – and thanks to his surprisingly calm demeanor, he is rewarded with music therapy, where he meets Harleen Quinzel, played by Lady Gaga.

This sets off a series of events that lead to a very surprising ending. However, before the 138-minute long film gets to it, it drags on and kills everything interesting with long shots, incomplete storylines and, above all, the musical concept. Although Joaquin Phoenix – and of course Lady Gaga – both sing brilliantly, their vaudeville numbers are the most boring thing ever Joker: Folie à Deux again from director Todd Phillips offers.

While the songs serve to emphasize the madness, they have no emotional impact. In the phantasmagorical scenes of Joker and Harleen’s derangement (to a shared psychosis madness for two also refers to the subtitle of the film) perhaps they still make sense somehow. But when the characters start singing in the middle of the dialogue like in any ordinary musical, it’s just distracting. And you can’t shake the impression that she’s singing in the movie just because Lady Gaga is in it.

It’s a shame, though, because the film does a good job of exploring the madness and nature of the iconic villain, and has some remarkable ideas at its core. Perhaps the most important one, if Arthur Fleck is the Joker, if they are two separate personalities, if it is a murderous psychosis, or a brutal revolt created by society – or if it is all completely different. Which are conundrums that fans of the Batman (or Bruce Wayne?) comics know well. But why does he have to sing?!

The film also manages to build a relationship between the two deranged – albeit in a completely different way – protagonists. He is truly broken at the core, she is more of a pathologically obsessed and lying manipulator. It’s interesting to watch their dynamic, which is also different than what comic book fans might expect.

But while the first film naturally and unpleasantly escalated its burdensome atmosphere, in Folie à Deux greater gradation is desperately lacking. The finale is literally explosive, but the lead up to it is flat. Which is a paradox, given that under the cover of the musical and unnecessarily long footage in prison and in court, there is a deconstruction of who or what the Joker actually is, taking place on several levels.

Joker/Fleck’s self-doubt isn’t uninteresting, no matter how many times it surprises you. At one point you fully expect him to launch a fiery charge like in number one… But this is different Joker as a movie and another Joker as a character. When it looks like he’s breathing in something, he backs off. A homicidal maniac gives way to a broken man.

At the same time, this is not bad at all from the point of view of what the film is trying to do in its deconstruction. But at the same time, this is exactly the reason why it is not as grateful to the audience as the first Joker. Incidentally, the sequel also shares the equally hilarious unkindness and dirty grayness of Gotham City, including the vaguely seventies vibe and ubiquitous cigarettes.

For what happens at the end, and for all the considerations hidden under the musical – which, unfortunately, you will only begin to fully perceive and appreciate long after you leave the cinema – Joker: Folie à Deux it costs But we dare to say that you will not need to see it more than once and that it will not reach the status of its predecessor.