Aron Tasnadi—The first Joker movie left audiences in a state of shock as it presented the psychological descent of a mentally ill man into madness within a DC setting. The movie was completely different from the usual DC/superhero film, with a lesser focus on sci-fi and action, and a greater focus on the societal wrongs of Gotham City. Joker itself was a bold and brilliant movie that depicted a uniquely depressed and enraged Joker that felt vastly different from previous depictions such as Heath Ledger’s or Jack Nicholson’s, with Joaquin Phoenix being a sympathetic man driven to madness over society’s wrongdoings. This take on The Joker left an immense impact on audiences, as many cinemas in the US and other countries refused to show the movie in fear of the copycats of The Joker causing mass panic across the country, which while tragic, highlighted the utter brilliance of this deeply relatable movie.
Joker: Folie à Deux however acts as a laughably awful follow-up to what many would call a masterpiece. The movie follows directly from the first, taking place two years after Joker was imprisoned in Arkham Asylum. This premise feels like a natural follow-up from the first movie, and alongside some incredible cinematography and outstanding acting from Joaquin Phoenix, made for a terrifying representation of the horrors of late 20th-century life in an asylum for the criminally insane. Though the setting was in many ways perfect, and even further improved by Brendan Gleeson’s role as The Joker’s guard, what felt off was that Joker simply wasn’t The Joker again. The entire first movie focused on Arthur Fleck’s descent into madness as he became the iconic villain, but for whatever reason, Director Todd Phillips felt it best to reset this entire character development and set everything back to square one. Arthur Fleck spends much of his time not acting like The Joker or really anything as he did at the end of the first movie, but rather in an identity crisis over whether he is even The Joker, which feels above all else as a betrayal to the character we saw grow within the first movie.
Not much later into the movie, Joker encounters Harley Quinn (portrayed by Lady Gaga), which acts as the key moment in the movie where the genre shifts from pure drama to musical drama. To many, this was a bold and unwelcome move, but going into the movie I felt no qualms about this artistic choice and was even prepared to enjoy it. However, across the entire movie, the musical scenes feel out of place, not woven into the story but rather as unusual breaks in the plot that feel fantastical but overall unimportant. Although, credit where credit is due, Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga both demonstrate their skills in both dance choreography (in many ways embodying the madness the movie wishes to present) and also their immense talents for singing. What many find lacking however in these musical scenes is the essence of madness that we find so tantalising about Joker and Harley, the music is written beautifully and does demonstrate their love for one another, but it doesn’t feel like the insane and all-over-the-place ‘love’ that we attribute to the two characters from the original comics and other theatrical representation. Instead, their love feels almost basic, yes they get each other’s feelings and world views, but that is too simple for what could possibly be famously a mercurial mess of a relationship.
This in many ways establishes the greater issues with the character of Harley Quinn. It would be wrong of me to state that Gaga’s acting was lacking, or that it was sensational, rather her character felt deeply one-dimensional across the entire movie, she began being in love with The Joker and not Arthur Fleck, and ended in love with The Joker and not Arthur Fleck. No comments can be made on the quality of Gaga’s acting as Harley because quite simply she was given the script for a character that remains unchanged and bland across the entire film. On top of that, Todd Philips seemingly made the artistic choice to swap the relationship roles that Joker and Harley have that we have come to love all the way back from their first appearance together in the comics. Rather than The Joker being the irreversibly mad and manipulative man that breaks Harley’s will, Joaquin’s Joker and Gaga’s Harley have the complete opposite relationship. This writing choice could very well have paid off if it weren’t for the fact that this simply does not pay justice to the characters Phillips wishes to present. It makes the madman that is the Joker feel not mad enough because he falls for every mind game thrown his way, and Harley doesn’t feel like the prodigy that went down the wrong path because she was always in the wrong. Overall this writing direction felt like nothing short of a character ‘assassination’ on both parts.
Another glaring issue with the movie is that it was mostly a ‘courtroom drama’, taking place largely during Arthur Fleck’s trial for his actions as The Joker in the first movie. This plotline could very well have worked if it weren’t for the fact that it was severely drawn out, after the first 30 minutes of the movie in Arkham, the following hour and 20 minutes slowly bleed the audience dry of their energy as they witness a trial that within itself prevents Arthur Fleck from being Joker. Apart from the scene featuring Leigh Gill’s character Gary Puddles, where he gives his testimonial on Arthur Fleck’s actions from the first movie, where Joker finally comes out and shows Joaquin Phoenix’s incredible capability to play the unpredictable mad clown, and where Leigh Gills establishes himself as an actor with the necessary talent to make the audience actually feel something (a rare occurrence across the entire movie). Within the following 20 minutes, finally we get to see the madman himself and his playful side, with even some on-character chilling moments, such as when during a musical number Joker imagines himself using a bar stool to beat Harvey Dent to death, and when he uses the judge’s gavel to bludgeon him to death. It’s these moments that leave the audience feeling hopeful that they’ll finally get to see the character they came to watch, until the following scene where an unforgivable act of character assassination occurs, Arthur Fleck denounces being The Joker.
The final act of the movie takes place still within the Gotham City court and is where the movie truly exemplifies its own pretentiousness. After a deep dive into his own past and who he is as a person, Arthur Fleck admits to the audience and the court that he in fact is not Joker. This in the eyes of many and my own is where the movie truly died, and where Joaquin Phoenix’s character was completely and utterly assassinated. After this, the court gets attacked and an explosion occurs that leaves a window of opportunity for Arthur Fleck to escape, which is then followed by his final encounter with Harley. Harley demonstrates to Arthur that she doesn’t love him if he is not Joker, and leaves him to get arrested and taken back to Arkham. While Gaga’s acting remained perfectly appropriate for the scene and script she was given, the character she was portraying simply wasn’t Harley Quinn, in fact, she’s much the polar opposite. Her dismissal and control over Joker felt so disconnected from the original character that it felt like almost a smack in the face to the audience, since what many love about Harley is her mad love for The Joker turning sour which leads to her gaining her autonomy. Yet again, this movie didn’t fail to completely misrepresent a character to the point of assassination.
The final scene of the movie was for many (including myself) the final straw. As Arthur Fleck is being escorted through Arkham to see a visitor, another patient (who had a handful of small cameos already) approaches him, and tells him a joke that results in him stabbing Arthur Fleck to death. These final moments before everything cuts to black focus on Joaquin Phoenix bleeding out on the ground, and out of focus in the background the patient that stabbed Arthur is seen laughing maniacally and carving a smile onto his face, demonstrating that he is the real Joker. This twist ending felt on par with those of M.Night Shyamalan, being over the top and pretentious to a fault, and even going so far as ruining the previous two hours of the movie. It made the entire experience of Joker: Folie à Deux feel pointless like the audience had been presented with a character designed for us to stop caring about by the end of the movie.
To conclude, Joker: Folie à Deux felt like a movie that tried too hard to be smarter than its audience, and while sometimes that can work, in this case, it just leaves the audience feeling like they were being looked down on by the writers. Sure, The Joker wore Joker makeup, and Harley Quinn was called Harley Quinn, but neither of these characters was in any way similar to or even respectful to the source material, it felt almost like Todd Phillips wanted to simply put the ‘DC seal of approval’ on his work just to attract an audience he ordinarily couldn’t. However, the acting and cinematography were stellar, with A-listers like Phoenix and Gleeson putting their all into the roles that visually paid off, and with shots of places like Arkham feeling inhumane and cramped to aid the audience in understanding how uncomfortable these places are. But nothing can make up for the Patronising and self-destructive ending to this movie. Never has a movie made me feel so tricked and cheated, and never have I ever watched any interpretation of The Joker that left me truly laughing maniacally, not because of the quality of the character, but because of the absurdity of this train wreck in cinema.
Image By: Klim Musalimov
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