“Joker: Folie à Deux” Review: A Dark Slog Of A Musical Even The Excellent Cast Can’t Save

Warner Brothers doesn’t really have the best track record when it comes to backing the right film. When the original 2019 “Joker” went into production, most executives from the American film production and distribution company shrugged it off, anticipating that it would be another superhero-related flop, like other DC entries up to that point. However, much to everyone’s surprise, it became the most talked-about film of the year, earned around a billion dollars in revenue, and became a cultural sensation.

Now, after five years of waiting, the highly-anticipated sequel is here, and Warner is definitely going to put a lot of elbow grease into this film as it looks to expand on the would-be Clown Prince of Crime — with music. Backed by a star-studded cast, this dark thriller is aiming to achieve the astronomical heights its predecessor attained, but does it?

The story picks up two years after the events of “Joker,” where our protagonist, Arthur Fleck (played by Joaquin Phoenix), has been committed to Arkham’s medical ward for his heinous act of killing five people. Since his public and televised execution of the famous late-night talk show host, Murray Franklin, Fleck has become a controversial icon and symbol for the working class, which has been relentlessly bullied by society’s elites.

As he is serving his time, he finds a kindred spirit in the form of Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (played by Lady Gaga), and the two immediately fall in love, with Harleen becoming Arthur’s respite from the cruel world. And together, they seek to be free and live out their lives as a loving couple.

There’s a lot to unpack with this film; some of it is good, most of it is bad. Regardless, you need to know that this sequel is a major departure from its predecessor, as it is a musical. Don’t believe what the director says on social media; it is a musical, no two ways about it. But before we talk about that, let’s first discuss the positives of the film.

Much like the 2019 film, one thing that absolutely jumps at us and sends shivers down our spines is the cinematography. From Arthur alone in his cell, to a lipstick on visiting area glass, there are plenty of iconic visuals in this film that leave a mark on our minds. The beauty of these scenes is that there are no words, just pure emotion that everyone can surely feel. Each new scene and set is unique and can’t be easily forgotten.

Another stunning part of the film is our two leads’ performances. Phoenix is absolutely killer in this role, both as Joker and Arthur Fleck. He is able to snap between the persona of a gaunt and broken man to an angry, faceless individual ready to set fire to the world without breaking a sweat. And he is ready to go through with the latter with Gaga on his side.

Much like her performance in the 2018 film “A Star is Born,” Gaga is absolutely phenomenal as Harleen Quinzel. She is the perfect person to fill this role, regardless of whether she sings or not. When she and Phoenix share a scene, there is not a moment that one overpowers the other — they always compliment each other, which is another fantastic visual.

On the topic of Gaga, we need to discuss the elephant in the room. As mentioned earlier, “Joker: Folie à Deux” is a musical. It is, frankly, a very bold departure, one that we have mixed feelings about. For one, the music and musical aspects of the film is exceptional; we naturally know of Gaga’s talents, but to hear Phoenix not only sing but keep up with the singer-songwriter is a treat all on its own. But it comes to a point where these sequences become too much.

You see, we know that Arthur experiences delusions where he imagines things that never happened as a way of showcasing rapidly declining mental health. “Joker: Folie à Deux” has those sequences, with most of them featuring a music number. From our interpretation, these sequences are very much like those delusions of grandeur that Arthur had in 2019, but with him having much more control over what he wants to do, but they are far more destructive and violent.

A prime example of this is the courtroom scene, where he suddenly imagines killing a select number of people while he is dancing and singing. Which is a great way of showcasing how far gone the aspiring comic truly is, but this is done an excessive amount of times during important scenes that it just ruins the pacing. We understand why the filmmakers do it, but it doesn’t excuse it or make it forgivable, nor does it justify the inclusion of these sequences.

To make a long story short, the music is great in the first half of the film, as it is meant to establish the connection between Arthur and Lee, but it simply becomes excessive in the second half, and it just feels like filler.

People argue online that Lady Gaga should have had more scenes in this film — something we disagree with. Despite Gaga’s remarkable presence and abundance of scenes, the movie underutilises her, focussing more on her vocals than on her acting, which is regrettable and possibly explains why fans are demanding more.

Speaking of underutilised, the film opens with a curious short clip unlike any we’ve seen before. To avoid giving anything away, here are the three theories we initially had about this brief scene: first, it’s an icebreaker, and a very strange one at that; second, it’s supposed to recap the events of the first movie or serve as a preface to “Folie à Deux”; and third, it’s supposed to be a kind of foreshadowing. Now that we’ve completely watched the film, we’ve come to the conclusion that the opening scene is completely unnecessary, as it has no bearing on the rest of the film – it’s just a device used by Warner to flex its muscles.

And finally, the ending. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a film ending that’s actually aggravating. When the film ended during our screening session, we heard a fellow reviewer say, “What the f*ck was that?” And rightly so, as for all the bombastic flair and musical high notes, the movie ends with a whimper. The way the film cuts to black feels like a slap to the face as it largely invalidates not just the two-hour movie that we’d just watched, but also the 2019 original as well. We can discuss theories on the implications of this ending, but if the filmmakers want to start the “DC Black” film series with this, then it’s best we abandon ship now.

There are plenty of deleted scenes running amok online, and honestly, we’d rather watch those and daydream about what the film could have been. There is so much wasted potential, and perhaps they are gearing up for a director’s cut of some kind where they utilise said deleted scenes in the future. But if that is the case, why not get it right the first time and not whatever we get now? 

Overall, “Joker: Folie à Deux” is a hot mess. It has an A-list celebrity with incredible acting chops, but absolutely drops the ball when it comes to storytelling. It feels as though the filmmakers forgot they were making a film and not a cover album. Phoenix and Gaga are the only exceptions to this film. They hard-carry this film, but it’s not enough, as almost everything is working against them. It could have been the movie of the year, but thanks to its messed-up pacing and insulting ending, we feel that this might be the most controversial DC film to date for all the wrong reasons.

“Joker: Folie à Deux” will be in theatres nationwide on 3rd October.