Joker: Folie i Deux, in theaters Friday, is in many respects the logical follow-up to the blockbuster Oscar-winner. Ultimately, following that premise to its inevitable conclusion proves to be a letdown.
Arthur imagines their romance as a musical, contrasted with prison life, dry courtroom proceedings and the media circus surrounding his case. It's logical that prison, a trial and media frenzy would ensue, and the musical interludes liven up the less cinematic parts as Arthur's mental state declines further.
Any musical with Lady Gaga singing standards provides some level of entertainment and those sequences are Folie's most engaging. Even Phoenix's warbling is endearing in its own way, except for one duet in which he, or a dubbing vocalist, belts out his part.
The non musical plot addresses threads left over from the first movie. Gotham City D.A. Harvey Dent (Harry Lawtey) argues Arthur is mentally fit to stand trial while Arthur's lawyer, Maryanne Stewart (Catherine Keener), mounts a defense on the basis of Multiple Personality Disorder.
The chaos Arthur prompted at the end of the first movie has largely subsided. There are throngs of Joker supporters outside the courthouse and some reporters who stoke that persona too, but it's hardly the anarchy suggested by the first film.Lee offers a toxic relationship with an obsessed fan, but it's difficult to talk Arthur out of it when the realistic alternative is commitment to a psychiatric institution, or the death penalty if they lose the case.
These themes are valid, if drawn out to the point they spread thin. Any interest they engage is retroactively withdrawn once it becomes apparent this isn't really going anywhere, because it can't.
That may be the point, but constructing a two-hour movie to say nobody gets what they want is an inherently futile gesture. The film wants audiences to be invested in the Joker persona like Lee and Arthur's admirers when Arthur isn't even invested in it anymore.
Even the film knows it can't just end like that so there is a contrived ending with some scale. It just feels obligatory to end the film with an explosion and running.
Phoenix won the Oscar for his performance in the first movie, and the sequel gives him opportunities to recreate that performance with his spontaneous laugh. He adds new affectations like speaking in voices in court, doing both southern and British accents.
That follows because Arthur is still obsessed with performance, and he stops taking his court-ordered medications. It just comes at a point where adding more randomness becomes exhausting.
The whole endeavor of celebrating a killer and examining the idolatry of him is nihilistic, which is a valid point of view. Ultimately, the film's cynicism is no edgier than a goth teenager complaining how hard life is.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
