Joker: Folie à Deux – Film Review
by Brian Merriman

Directed by Todd Phillips
Written by Scott Silver and Todd Phillips
Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson, Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener, Jacob Lofland,

Duration 138 minutes

‘Joker: Folie à Deux’  is a sequel to the award-winning 2019 film ‘Joker’ which won an Oscar for Joaquin Pheonix in the title role (‘Joker/Arthur Fleck’). Based loosely on the DC Comic characters ‘Joker and Harley Quinn’ (Gaga), the original film was a psychological thriller which grossed over 1 billion dollars. No wonder they made a sequel.

This sequel is a musical play with any psychological thriller aspect replaced by an emphasis on the great soundtrack of iconic songs from Musicals, Swing and charts made famous by stars such as Judy Garland, Karen Carpenter, Louis Armstrong and many more, justifying Lady Gaga’s striking presence in the dark plot. She is in her husky element with this repertoire and an associated album of the classics featured is imminent.

The direction of the sequel has a sprinkle of ‘La La Land’ in its structure and frequently draws on the 1974 classic ‘That’s Entertainment’. In truth, the writers rely heavily on the works of great composers and lyricists to convey the plot, which is at times too thin to leave you on the edge of your seat as another ‘thriller’. Phoenix gives another strong eccentric performance as the ‘Joker/Arthur Fleck’. His emaciated physique, his ‘Nicholsonesque’ laugh and his physicality throughout, make his sinister presence a driving force, with a hint of Silence of the Lambs in the Steve Coogan interview scene.

The constant chain-smoking throughout allows strong photographic imagery as does the setting of the songs. Both Gaga and Phoenix don’t try to ‘sing’ the songs as they opt for a more raspish inverted vocal tone to good effect. Instead, they rely on their considerable interpretative skills, drawing out so much from the traditional lyrics, and making them part of the written plot.

There is a sinister ‘Gothem-esque’ brutal prison setting that somehow allows serious criminals to mix with inpatients in an adjoining mental health facility. It is never explained just how ‘Harley’ manages to persuade her way into getting so much access to a high-security prisoner, but this fits in with the almost farcical undertone of this imaginary city setting.

‘Joker/Fleck’ is finally brought to trial for a series of violent murders, well staged in the animated opening sequence. There is a personal battle between personality and identity, which will be exposed throughout his trial. The megalomaniacal person of ‘Joker’ is fed constantly by his acolytes and ‘Harley’ is set to take full advantage of that and associate herself with the criminal’s cult-like reputation.

There are scenes of prison brutality, cultism and a murder trial which dominate most of the screenplay. The story does sag a little, but special effects are used to shock us back to the schizophrenic reality that divides ‘Fleck’ from ‘Joker’. Brendan Gleeson shines as ‘Jackie Sullivan’, the Prison Officer who won’t be played, showing both sides of his character, and there are some nice supporting roles and cameos in the prison and courtroom scenes.

The sequel doesn’t have the depth or impact of the first movie, and you certainly need to have an awareness of the characters and their many on-screen portrayals,  to fully engage with the plot. Many sequels are challenged to live up to the original. Here the writers have opted to take a somewhat different approach and in that, the film stands in its own right. The Jury in the film makes up its mind in record time, the film-going audience may take a little longer to see if it will make another billion dollars!