de facto film reviews 2 stars

2019’s Joker was a lighting-in-a-bottle film that came with much buzz and discourse, with overwhelming box office returns to boot. Todd Phillips’ distinct vision of the classic DC villain was met with equal amounts of raves and controversy, but was a box office milestone, becoming the first R-rated film to gross over $1 billion dollars and won two Oscars, notably for star Joaquin Phoenix. The film, while derivative in its inspirations and narrow in its view of mental health and societal chaos, was a deeply unsettling portrait of a man spiraling into madness. When it was announced that Phillips would return to helm the sequel that would also double as a jukebox musical, it seemed as though Phillips took his blank check and aimed to go buckwild with it. Although that is still largely the case here, the film he delivers is a baffling, but intriguing failure.

Courtesy WB Pictures

It has been two years since the events of the first film and Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) has been sent to Arkham State Hospital while he awaits trial for killing five people. Abused and tormented by the guards, led by guard Jackie Sullivan (Brendan Gleeson), Arthur has stayed near silent in his time locked away. One day, he meets Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga), otherwise known as Harley Quinn, in a singing class and the two immediately bond. Lee is obsessed with Arthur, particularly with his antics as the Joker. As Arthur’s trial begins, assistant DA Harvey Dent (Harry Lawtey) pushes for the death penalty. Arthur’s attorney Maryanne (Catherine Keener) makes the case that Arthur suffers from split personality disorder and that Joker is another identity inside of him. However, Arthur is far more focused on his blossoming relationship with Lee, often sending him into fantasies created in his mind where he and Lee find solace in music to escape their harsh reality.

Director Todd Phillips shows more filmmaking ambition in his follow-up, but that doesn’t equate to his failure to follow through on his many bold ideas brought to the table. Joker: Folie à Deux attempts to reckon with the fallout of the first film, particularly with those who idolize Arthur for his vengeful actions against Murray Franklin and the three bullies he murdered on the subway. In what feels like a deliberate attempt to strike back against critics of the first film who felt as though the film glorified or lionized Arthur’s murderous actions, Phillips goes out of his way to take Arthur down a peg at every turn. He aggressively rejects the idea of his lead being an anti-hero and makes this sequel feel like something of an indictment of fanboy culture. I say “feels like” because whatever overarching message Phillips has isn’t made particularly clear.

In an attempt to make Folie à Deux an MGM-style musical, Arthur will often break into song to convey his inner thoughts and turmoil. We’ll often get fantasy sequences such as Arthur and Lee appearing on a vintage variety show and singing covers such as Sammy Davis Jr’s “Gonna Build a Mountain” and Arthur imagining a courtroom massacre with him belting out “The Joker”. Phillips includes other classic songs such as Burt Bacharach’s “What The World Needs Now Is Love”, The Bee Gees’ “To Love Somebody”, The Carpenters’ “(They Long To Be) Close To You” and other tracks pulled from the Great American Songbook. However, many of these numbers come across as such low energy and the staging lacks the pizazz needed to make such a bold swing to work. Phoenix does a tap dance solo that comes the closest to big-screen musical charm, but these numbers never move the plot along like they typically should and always stop the film dead in its tracks. If Phillips didn’t want to commit to a musical, then why try it in the first place? This aspect of the film feels woefully half-assed and unpassionate.

Courtesy WB Pictures

The relationship between Arthur and Lee is vastly underdeveloped as well. The two meet and immediately connect, but there’s rarely a feeling of passion in their chemistry. There have been countless iterations of Joker and Harley Quinn so the idea that Phillips sidelines this aspect in favor of a dull courtroom drama is baffling. Gaga’s performance captures the live-wire aspect of the character that is compelling, but her portrayal of Lee feels less of a fully-fledged character and more of a handful of character traits. When more motivations are revealed later, they come with intrigue, but the film is almost over by that point. What ultimately kneecaps the film is despite its bold, potentially provocative new ideas brought to the table, it’s simply not all that interesting.

Phillips pulls a number of strong sequences together. The film’s best scene, the one that comes closest to truly reckoning with Arthur’s actions in the first film is a confrontation in the courtroom between Arthur and his former work friend, Gary (Leigh Gill). It’s a scene that is both sobering, thrilling and even darkly funny, but concludes with a rather subtle gut punch. A stylistic highpoint comes from a chase sequence in the third act shot in an elaborate oner that, while derivative of an iconic moment from Alfonso Cuaron’s Children of Men, still manages to dazzle. Despite the occasional strong sequence and committed performances, Joker: Folie à Deux is so poorly paced, hobbling through its 138-minute runtime and disjointed in its themes.

Courtesy WB Pictures

Joker: Folie à Deux is a failure of a film, but one with many admirable ambitions. Joaquin Phoenix is stirring yet again as Arthur Fleck and Lady Gaga makes the most of her underutilized portrayal of Harley Quinn, but the many ideas director Todd Phillips brings together simply never coalesce. This is an often dull, flat and unfocused work with ingredients that go together as well as oil and water.

Joker: Folie à Deux is now playing in theaters.