Todd Phillips’ Joker was as divisive as mainstream movies get, winning two Oscars and receiving a Razzie nomination. I stand by my five-star review of that film and will go to bat for Joker: Folie à Deux, although not with the same levels of enthusiasm. Like its predecessor, this sequel is bound to split audiences. Where people either loved or hated the first film, Joker: Folie à Deux is a follow-up that some will detest and others will admire. It has all the right pieces for a unique sequel that builds upon the original’s themes while taking the idea in a completely different direction. Yet, the execution is hit and miss, namely in its musical numbers. Yes, this is a musical, despite what the ads and filmmakers say.
Picking up years after the first film, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is standing trial for the five murders he committed. Technically six, but nobody knows Arthur was responsible for his mother’s death. His lawyer (Catherine Keener) sincerely believes that Arthur is a victim of his own insanity, which materializes in the form of the Joker. In another loosely veiled allegory for Trump, the Joker has become a folk hero to some, who turn his trial into a circus. Among the Joker’s admirers is a fellow patient, Harleen “Lee” Quinn (Lady Gaga). Arthur once thought his life was a tragedy and then a comedy. Upon meeting Lee in choir class, it becomes a musical.
If Joker was DC’s answer to Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, Folie à Deux takes after Scorsese’s New York, New York. Going from psychological thriller to musical is a bizarre choice. Then again, even the most grounded musicals are essentially about escaping reality through song. No matter how you frame it, spontaneously breaking out into a musical number (externally or internally) isn’t exactly sane behavior. Music offers a new outlet to explore Arthur’s psyche. While the idea is full of promise, Arthur is incapable of carrying a tune.
Although Phoenix demonstrated his singing chops in Walk the Line, Phillips wanted the actors to sing off-key here. This raw approach might be truer to the characters, but there’s only so much bad singing the audience can take. Gaga gets off easier than Phoenix. Even when she dials it back, her voice still goes up to 11. Too many scenes play like failed American Idol auditions, though. Occasionally, there’s an impressive set piece that harkens to the soundstage musicals of Hollywood’s golden era, especially a rendition of Gonna Build a Mountain. For the most part, though, Phillips sets the numbers in dingy cells that aren’t visually interesting.
Folie à Deux works better as a courtroom dramedy and epilogue to the first film. Upon release, many argued that Joker functioned fine as a standalone film and any unanswered questions were better left ambiguous. While it didn’t demand a sequel, it’s intriguing to unpack the aftermath of Arthur’s actions, from how survivors view their near-death experiences to the public’s divided response. The film also presents a compelling identity crisis for Arthur as he wrestles with his bombastic celebrity persona and the meek loser underneath. This is portrayed best in an animated opening from Triplets of Belleville director Sylvain Chomet where Arthur combats his own shadow in Looney Tunes fashion. This sequence works because it goes all the way. If only the same can be said about the musical numbers.
For Joker: Folie à Deux to work as a musical or even an anti-musical, it needed to fully embrace reality and fantasy ala Chicago. It wouldn’t have hurt Phillips to bring in an outside director to assist with musical staging. Think the 1961 adaptation of West Side Story, which was a perfect fusion of Robert Wise’s grit and Jerome Robbins’ heavenly choreography. Between the uneven songs and a final act that rushes to its bleak conclusion, Joker: Folie à Deux isn’t going to work for most people. However, it worked for me, albeit marginally.
For all the missed opportunities, Phillips has made another well-crafted film elevated by Lawrence Sher’s beautifully grim cinematography and Hildur Guðnadóttir’s soul-crushing score. Singing aside, Phoenix and Gaga have enormous chemistry (even when they don’t). It’s a fresh approach to Joker and Harley’s relationship that moves around some aspects, maintains others, and leaves just enough up to the imagination. The same goes for Arthur’s individual journey, expanding the first film’s character study while still leaving us with much to analyze. The ending will surely be a key talking point, walking a fine line between being clever and downright empty (which may be fitting for a film like this). In any case, Joker: Folie à Deux had me singing along, even if it didn’t hit all the right notes.