Joker: Folie À Deux (2024)

JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX 🃏

Joker: Folie À Deux is nothing like what you think it’ll be, yet that is the exact reason why you will love or hate it.

This direct sequel to Todd Philips audacious 2019 JOKER film is a daydreaming musical, procedural drama that puts the infamous, imprisoned Arthur Fleck on trial for the killing spree he went on in 1981.

While his defence team tries to make a case that he has multiple personality disorders, the prosecutors look to give him the death penalty. This causes an uproar amongst the disenfranchised citizens of Gotham City who now look at Joker as a Messiah figure, which is led by his fellow inmate and now girlfriend, Harleen Quinzel.

All the buzz around this movie has been exhaustingly negative, but to my surprise, I ended up being super impressed with this bold and unconventional take on the Joker.

As someone who has consumed a ton of Joker stories from the movies to the animated series and, of course, the comics, I felt this embodied what the Joker is and can be—while being wholly original.

Straying away from the high-low eccentric nature of the traditional character and replacing that with a chaotically subdued version that lives in a more grounded interpretation of a world that is normally filled with heroes and villains is a risky way to sell and tell this story, but in my opinion, it works.

Joker: Folie À Deux uses the fabric of Jokers mind to mesh the bleak reality he faces with the recesses of his subconscious mind, where he daydreams his way into finding peace, which is a perspective in film we rarely see.

In some ways this film feels like it’s saying the Joker is an idea more than a person, the other side of the coin makes you wonder if the ending is a way of saying he was never the Joker to begin with, but the reason the Joker ends up becoming who he is.

The one thing I was worried about coming into this was the musical aspect, but it ended up being a very unique way to convey the toxicity that exists between Harley and Joker. I will say I wasn’t the biggest fan of this interpretation of Harley Quinn, which had more to do with her relationship with Arthur Fleck and had nothing to do with Lady Gaga’s fine performance.

When I’m watching movies like this, I’m taking into consideration the history of the fictional character, so the flip-flopping style of storytelling worked for me in ways a non-Joker-knowing moviegoer might find extremely off-putting. This film acts out moments in the most roundabout ways, which, in my opinion, added to the Joker-ness of it all, but may be another reason that it turns a lot of people off.

This movie is not a fun watch. How do you have fun when you’re watching someone who was mistreated their whole life who then decides to act out his anger with unapologetic acts of violence? But with so many movies feeling like a carbon copy of something else, it’s refreshing to watch an interpretation that had clear, original intention—and is undeniably committed to its execution—which is something I wholeheartedly applaud.

Joker: Folie À Deux is an unwaveringly daring take on an already divisive portrayal of one of the most enigmatic characters in fiction. 

Enjoy!

7.1/10 🍿 🎥

Runtime: 2hrs17mins

Where: In Theatres October 4th

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