Joker: Folie à Deux Review

Back in 2019, the first Joker was released and became one of the most divisive films of all time. It’s no surprise then that its sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, is following suit to become a film you’ll either love or hate. Facing an identity crisis before release, with the studio reluctant to push the film as a musical in its marketing, it actually ends up being an intriguing sequel that opts to take a quite unique approach to tell its story.

Following his murder spree in Gotham City, Arthur Fleck (Lady Gaga) leads Arthur to question the dual identity bestowed upon him – and whether Joker really is who he’s destined to be.

Making a sequel to a billion dollar hit is not a new thing exactly, but making a sequel and trying to hide the true nature of it is a bold strategy – and not one that entirely works. This is very much a musical set against the backdrop of both a psychiatric hospital and courtroom, songs breaking up sequences – quite abruptly in some cases – and it works both for and against the film. Speaking as a fan of musicals, a lot of the songs work in showing us the psyche of particular characters yet there are times in the film when they feel jarring and really slow proceedings down. The result is an uneven experience, with the pacing of the opening act suffering the most – even with a fun animated sequence that kicks it all off.

The singing and dancing may be quite a distraction for some, but it doesn’t stop the film from having something to say – unsubtle as it may be. Todd Phillips and Scott Silver have written a sequel that carries over themes from the first film while adding elements of manipulation to proceedings, the dynamic between Fleck and Quinzel unlike any we’ve seen before. There’s certainly been uproar about how the film presents its ideas but that’s what makes it so fascinating to experience. It takes quite a few big swings and, while not all of them are successful, you have to respect it for actively trying to do something a little different.

Also carried over from the first film is the sterling work from Lawrence Sher in regards to the cinematography – something that cannot be criticised in this film with how great the film looks – and Hildur Guðnadóttir delivering another aptly haunting score as we delve into some damaged psyche, and not just that of the titular character.

The performance of Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur is no doubt the shining light of this sequel, flitting between deeply disturbed and flamboyant in his dual role effortlessly and providing the film with a truly memorable focal point. As mentioned before, this is a different dynamic between the leads, and Phoenix and Lady Gaga play off each other so well, with the latter a particularly strong presence in more limited screen time than you’d expect. If you’re expecting this to be Phoenix and Gaga terrorising Gotham while singing, you’ll inevitably be disappointed.

Joker: Folie à Deux means shared madness and there’s plenty of that on show in Todd Phillips‘ sequel. It’s proving as divisive as the first film, most notably for an ending I’ve been seeing a lot about since it premiered at the Venice Film Festival. We can’t say much due to spoilers, but it’s genuinely a fascinating closing scene that works well for what they were going for with this iteration of Joker.

★★★1/2

In cinemas now / Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Zazie Beetz, Steve Coogan / Dir: Todd Phillips / Warner Bros. Pictures / 15