Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix star in a promotional poster. Photo courtesy of Forbes.
EMMA MCLEAN | CULTURE CO-EDITOR | emclean@butler.edu
“Film Fanatics” explores Hollywood’s recent releases, cherished classics and everything in between. These thought-provoking reviews invite fresh perspectives and weigh whether a film deserves attention — or if it’s best left in the past. Read on to find out what our writers think of this week’s film.
In 2019, Todd Phillips’ Oscar-winning film “Joker” left an indelible mark on cinematic history. While not wholly loved by audiences, its cast, writing and cinematography certainly captured attention and awards.
On June 7, 2022, Phillips officially announced the highly anticipated sequel, “Joker: Folie à Deux” on Instagram. The announcement confirmed that Joaquin Phoenix would reprise his iconic role as the Joker, joined by Lady Gaga in the role of Lee Quinzel — a re-imagined take on the beloved Harley Quinn character. Soon fans would learn that this sequel would be a movie musical — nothing says “psychotic chaos” like breaking into a dance number.
The thriller-musical opens in Cell E258, where Arthur Fleck — the man behind the Joker — endures harsh reprimands from guards while visibly sick and malnourished. Having been deemed competent in a recent sanity hearing, Arthur stands on the precipice of trial for the murders of five individuals. In his trial, Fleck and his lawyer argue that he and the Joker are not the same.
As he sits in the cafeteria alongside other inmates, Fleck learns that he faces the death penalty in this trial and, naturally, breaks into a rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “For Once In My Life”. The transition into song here and throughout the film is nothing short of utterly bewildering — something even Gaga cannot save.
Sophomore art history major Tessa Specchio saw “Joker: Folie à Deux” on its opening night and took issue with how Phillip utilized Gaga’s presence.
“I think they did a really weird thing with [Gaga’s] character,” Specchio said. “People really liked [Harley Quinn] because she’s crazy, but she has that humanity to where you kind of understand her. It’s so weird to me that they took a character so well equipped for interesting things and character development and just made her … very surface level and not very interesting”
Lee Quinzel and Fleck meet in a minimum-security wing of the prison, where they sing together in a choir and recognize each other as equally psychotic. Harleen’s fervent obsession with the Joker becomes apparent immediately, and within mere moments, Fleck and her forge a relationship that is intended to be profoundly passionate.
However, there is never a genuine moment of connection between them; instead, their bond feels more like a contrived plot device. While Phoenix and Gaga are talented performers, the writing fails to support them, leaving their characters in a narrative that does them a disservice.
“In its attempt to be overly artsy and dramatic, it loses quality,” Specchio said. “There are fun aspects that could be really cool, but they’re overshadowed by the fact that the plot is not good; the screenplay is not good.”
By the film’s end, audiences have become intimately acquainted with Arkham Prison, as the entirety of the narrative unfolds either within its walls, in the courtroom or during occasional imaginary dance numbers reminiscent of a high school production of “La La Land”.
With a budget of $200 million — almost four times that of its predecessor — it is striking that Phillips chose such a limited range of settings. This choice is also somewhat controversial as many fans expressed their profound boredom with the film — a sentiment likely born from or at least exacerbated by the film’s static setting.
The original “Joker” grossed $335 million domestically and $743 million internationally, making it the highest-grossing R-rated film in history at the time; it has since been exceeded by “Deadpool & Wolverine”. Warner Brothers’ “Joker: Folie à Deux” had a fairly catastrophic debut weekend — grossing $40 million, roughly $15 million less than the already low ticket sale projections.
General reactions to the film do not help redeem this image. The film received a 5.3 rating on IMDB and 33% and 31% from critics and fans, respectively, on Rotten Tomatoes.
“Joker: Folie à Deux” is a musical that cannot decide if it wants to sing, a drama that is much too self-serious and a thriller that does not produce any tension. Most of the film features Arthur magically producing cigarettes and face paint and singing acapella with Lee Quinzel.
The ending is certainly shocking, but given the general incoherence of the movie, it falls short of its shock-factor potential. However, something that Phillips can certainly be recognized for is not following traditional filmmaking conventions, at all. At all.
“Joker: Folie à Deux” is playing in theaters worldwide, for better or worse.
