Joker: Folie à Deux – A Review

Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)

Joker: Folie à Deux – A Review

I remember walking out of the theater in 2019 after watching Joaquin Phoenix and Todd Phillips bring Joker to the big screen. It was a moment I’ll never forget. I left the theater with my wife—then girlfriend—feeling disturbed, off-put, and uncomfortable. But I was also amazed by what I had just seen. Jokerwas, in my opinion, an acting and narrative tour de force. From the moment you meet Arthur Fleck, portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, you’re immediately unsettled. Here’s a man with obvious mental health issues, slowly descending into madness. I remember saying that very day, “Joaquin’s going to win an Oscar for this.” And sure enough, he did. Phoenix joined Heath Ledger as two men who portrayed the Joker and won an Academy Award for it.

When the idea of a sequel came up—especially after Joker made a billion dollars—I was intrigued. The first film stood beautifully on its own, but my general view on sequels is this: you can make as many as you want. As long as I still have the original work that I love, it doesn’t diminish my enjoyment of it. So where would a Joker sequel go? Then I heard it would be a musical starring Lady Gaga, and I think everyone paused for a second, wondering, “A musical? That’s… strange.”

Fast forward to Joker: Folie à Deux finally hitting theaters. Watching the first scene immediately brought me back to the 2019 film—though I’ve only seen Joker once, not because it wasn’t great, but because it was one of those movies that made me so uncomfortable, I didn’t feel like revisiting it. The sequel begins with a similar shot: we see Arthur’s exposed back as we pick up where he left off. He’s in Arkham Asylum, heavily medicated, and has a strange dynamic with one of the guards. At this point, I wasn’t clear on where the movie was going.

We see Arthur meet with a lawyer, discussing his upcoming trial and whether he’ll claim insanity. (How could he not?) I enjoyed how the film unfolded at first, though I still didn’t fully understand the narrative direction. I should also mention that I watched this movie in Screen X at a Regal Cinema, which projects on three sides of the theater. It was occasionally distracting, but at times, it added to the experience.

Then, we finally meet Lady Gaga’s character. As expected, Gaga brought her A-game. I’ve enjoyed her performances in A Star is Born and House of Gucci, and I thought she delivered another great performance here. This is where the Joker begins finding his counterpart in Harley Quinn, and the film picks up from there.

However, the story didn’t captivate me as much as the first film did. The pacing felt uneven. At one point, I thought we were nearing the end, only to realize we were just halfway through—there was still another hour to go.

Now, about the musical element: I didn’t mind it. Sure, there were moments when it slowed the movie down, but it felt appropriate within the character’s fantasy world—Arthur’s tendency to slip into these elaborate dream sequences. The musical aspect worked for me more than I expected.

One part I particularly enjoyed was the opening cartoon sequence. It mimicked an old Warner Brothers cartoon with Joker fighting his shadow, which constantly gets him into trouble and then blames him for it. This sequence encapsulates what the movie tries to convey: Arthur’s struggle with his alter ego. The iconography of the Joker, and the public’s fascination with it, becomes part of the film’s narrative. We see Arthur grapple with living up to the Joker persona or letting it all go. This time, it’s less about his descent into madness and more about his internal battle with who he is.

Then there’s Harvey Dent. While I understand why they introduced him as the Assistant District Attorney, I didn’t feel it was necessary. The Batman-related parts of this universe are my least favorite aspects of these movies. When Harvey Dent’s origin as Two-Face is introduced via a car bomb, it felt like an unnecessary Easter egg. It didn’t add to the story, and I thought a random lawyer could have sufficed in prosecuting Arthur’s case.

Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn doesn’t quite match Margot Robbie’s version. It’s an automatic comparison people will make, and while I appreciate what Gaga brought to the role, Robbie simply embodies the character more fully, aligning better with the comics. That said, this Harley Quinn serves her purpose—she’s more in love with the idea of Joker than with Arthur Fleck himself, which is evident during a courtroom scene where she realizes Arthur isn’t really the Joker.

The movie ends with Arthur being stabbed by another inmate at Arkham Asylum, left lying dead on the floor—or so it seems. My wife and I discussed whether he might still be alive. If this film makes another billion dollars, we might see him again. But I doubt Folie à Deux will have the same impact as the first Joker did.

Final Thoughts

Joker: Folie à Deux is a good second act—at times, a great second act—but it doesn’t reach the heights of its predecessor. Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix explore a different aspect of the character this time around, focusing on duality and the shadows we all wrestle with inside ourselves. I think the film’s message is clear: to find peace, we must accept who we are, even the flawed and irrational parts.

Recommendation

Should you see Joker: Folie à Deux? Yes. It’s worth a watch. It’s a more “watchable” film than the first one—less uncomfortable, but ultimately, not as solid.