Who’s Laughing Now?
With all due respect to The Substance, Joker: Folie à Deux is the year’s most audacious film — just not for the reasons you might expect. The fact that Folie à Deux is a musical isn’t even the film’s biggest swerve.
Director Todd Phillips takes the billion-dollar formula from 2019’s Joker and sets it ablaze, delivering a slow-burn character study hell-bent on subverting fans’ expectations.
What is Joker: Folie à Deux About?
Folie à Deux picks up two years after the events of Joker. Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) spends his days rotting away in Arkham Asylum, awaiting trial for murdering five people. His lawyer, Maryanne Stewart (an exasperated Catherine Keener), fights to prove Arthur is criminally insane, arguing that his Joker persona manifested from years of psychological and emotional abuse.
Her challenge, however, is that Arthur seems uninterested in owning that story. He craves notoriety and his psychopathic antics have earned him legions of fans. The TV movie about his life and the press’s endless interview requests only validate his violent pursuit of the limelight.
A chance encounter with fellow Arkham inmate Lee (Lady Gaga) flips his world on its head. She’s like the devil whispering in Arthur’s ear, urging him to embrace his dark persona and wield his influence over the masses like a weapon. Lee’s presence inspires him to transform from hapless stooge Arthur Fleck into the infamous public menace, the Joker.
What Makes Folie à Deux a Vibe Movie
If you thought 2019’s Joker was divisive, Folie à Deux bounds onto the scene cackling, “Wait till they get a load of me!” It’s tough discussing why this film does or doesn’t work without spoilers, but I’ll do my best to talk around the most shocking details.
Folie à Deux is a total vibe movie — 15 minutes of plot stretched over a two-and-a-half hour movie. Best case scenario, you sit back and soak in the atmosphere, the over-the-top performances, and wild musical numbers. But don’t expect a straightforward continuation of the Clown Prince of Crime’s origin story. This film is all about mood, atmosphere, and delving into the zealotry of idolizing such barbaric characters. It’s not a plot-heavy film and as a result the story feels like a lot of tire spinning without covering much ground.
What’s Folie à Deux Trying to Say?
Arthur is a man at war with himself — a beaten-down and broken schmuck whose hatred and resentment have festered into a sociopathic shadow personality. Some of Gotham’s citizens adore Joker because he’s a chaos agent, destabilizing the city’s oppressive socio-political systems. His existence threatens Gotham’s untouchable elites: the greedy millionaires and crooked politicians who make life miserable for the working class. But in reality, Arthur is just a weirdo who stumbled into the spotlight without any grand designs.
Phillips who co-wrote the film with Scott Silver, refuses to give fans the movie they think they deserve. Folie à Deux is all build-up and tension with no release. Imagine a Jaws movie where the shark circles the beach for two hours but never chomps down on a single beachgoer.
Joker: Anti-hero or Villain?
Folie à Deux goes out of its way to make Joker fans reconsider the character’s appeal — both Gotham’s citizens and those packing real-world multiplexes. My screening looked like a Joker meta-verse, with fans dressed as Heath Ledger, Mark Hamill, and Cesar Romero-inspired Jokers, with the majority cosplaying as Arthur Fleck.
But here’s the kicker: the film calls out the public’s misguided reverie for the myth behind the man. Arthur is a cipher smeared in clown makeup, an ideological figure lacking any consequential ideas. He’s neither a sly villain nor a devious mastermind. He’s not even funny, charming, or quick with a pun. And he’s certainly no lady’s man. So what’s the appeal of an awkward and reckless incel who’s murdered people in cold blood? Dressing up as Arthur Fleck is like attending a Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood screening dressed as Charles Manson.
Phillips dangles the Joker’s anarchic return in front of viewers like a carrot on a stick, while simultaneously judging them for their bloodlust. This giant tease doesn’t make for an exciting Joker movie, but it does create a sharp social commentary. I have no idea how Phillips convinced the studio to let him go all experimental with their billion-dollar cash cow.
Final Thoughts on Joker: Folie à Deux
As meandering as Folie à Deux may be, it’s never dull thanks to its two magnetic leads. Phoenix and Gaga both turn in electric performances, bringing a thousand shades of madness to their iconic roles. Gaga’s smouldering ferocity brings a newfound intensity to Harley Quinn, a character known for being cartoonishly broad. And Phoenix joyfully cuts loose to every twisted melody spilling out of Arthur’s shattered psyche.
Folie à Deux is a middle-of-the-road movie but an intriguing work of art. It sticks two middle fingers toward anyone who sees Arthur Fleck as a cult hero, forcing them to reckon with their adoration for such a depraved character. Folie à Deux is an anti-origin story that gets the last laugh on Joker fans. It’s like a joke consisting of one drawn-out setup with a killer punchline: the joke’s on you.
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