That Joker : Folie A Deux exists at all is a bit of an oddity given 2019 smash hit Joker was always meant to be a stand alone film. That it exists in this form; a song filled courtroom romance that can pretty much be classified as an anti sequel, is nothing short of extraordinary. I'm sure that when star Joaquin Phoenix decided he wanted another go around as troubled loner Arthur Fleck the money men at Warner Bros. were rubbing their hands but hats off to director Todd Phillips for getting reportedly close to $200 million out of them for this insane vision of a follow up.
Picking up four years after the events of Joker, the Arthur we first see has been beaten down by his years of incarceration. He barely communicates and Brendan Gleeson's guard laments the fact he no longer amuses him and his colleagues with jokes. A glimmer of life returns when an encounter with fellow inmate Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga) leads to a blossoming romance. Starved of affection for his entire life, Arthur is instantly besotted while Lee seems far more interested in the antics and mystique of Arthur's Joker persona than the man himself. About a third of the way in, the film switches from prison romance to courtroom drama as Arthur's beleaguered attorney tries to help him avoid the death penalty by proving he has multiple personalities. Her task is made harder as the limelight of the trial and Quinzel's affections fire Arthur up and he becomes more interested in showboating than saving his skin.
Joker may have presented itself as unconventional but Folie A Deux makes that film look like a four quadrant summer tentpole blockbuster by comparison. The first film wore its Martin Scorsese influence plainly (and why not, if you're making an angry white guy movie you may as well crib from the best) but the influences here are far more diverse. Obviously there are One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next vibes (British institution classic Scum too) but there is also Francis Ford Coppola flop One From the Heart and old French classic The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. If its predecessor was a funhouse mirror reflection of a comic book movie, this film is the reflection of that original reflection, any DNA of a DC world unrecognisable.
And there are songs, lots of songs. Phillips has said he was reluctant to call the movie a musical because the idea of a musical is that you leave the cinema happy and you won't be smiling after this. He's not wrong (more on that later) but there's another reason that moniker doesn't quite fit, the songs don't advance the narrative. A tune's function here is a trip to fantasy land to explore a characters state of mind, not a line of communication between writer and audience. The visuals and performances during the songs are pretty great. Phoenix proved in 2005's Walk the Line that he can sing but what he does this time is completely different. Arthur is no songbird, raspy and off key he ambles his way through the songs but with such feeling it feels like hearing these classics for the first time. When Frank Sinatra sings about finally finding somebody you know he's never really had such difficulties, when Arthur sings it every word means everything to him. Lady Gaga might be even better. We know she can sing and she's perfectly melodic here, but not perfect. Just a little too slow, just a little off tune. Completely fitting for a character hiding the true extent of herself.
In terms of style, cinematography and emotion Folie A Deux is top notch. In terms of narrative through line it is lacking. The main story component is the courtroom drama but the film's unconventional nature means there is none of the cut and thrust that propels such scenes in other movies. We spend more time going over and recontextualising the events of the previous film than experiencing new ones. It's not a case of style over substance, it's just that the substance is in the observing rather the doing.
The other barrier to entry is that the film is pretty relentlessly grim. While Joker showed the world through Arthur's eyes, Folie A Deux shows the world's view of Arthur and it is not pleasant. Seen only as either a figure of hatred or ridicule, or a symbol of violent power, nobody gives a toss about the man behind the persona. He is, lest we forget, a multiple murderer so you can argue nobody should care but the system that ignored him first time round now takes great delight in punching him in the face. I'm sure this isn't the direction people who revelled in the previous films violent third act wanted Arthur's story to go but it feels like a natural progression for such a character. The film makers seem fully aware of the response their movie will get from certain sections of the fanbase and have made that a major part of the narrative.
Whether you love it or hate it (they are likely to be the only two reactions), the talent behind Joker: Folie A Deux cannot be denied and it stands as a triumph of creative ambition over bean counting. It will bemuse and infuriate plenty of the original movies fans and likely burn a hole in the pocket of Warner Brothers but will live in the memory and conversation long after a traditional sequel would have been forgotten.
8 cartoon shadows out of 10 clowns.
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