Directed by Todd Phillips
Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Catherine Keener, Brendan Gleeson, Zazie Beetz, and Harry Lawtey

2019s Joker was not only a much-deserved smash-hit at the global box office, it was also one of the greatest films released that year. Second only to Green Book, to be precise. Before attending a session of its sequel, understandably with high hopes, great anticipation, and lofty expectations, there are certain spoiler-free points and tips you really ought to know first.

Number one – Joker was conceived as a standalone film. Even director Todd Phillips confirmed Joker was not set-up to have a sequel. Hmm.

Number two – the push to produce a sequel comes from the studio, whose intention is to launch a DC Black film series, a line of DC Comics-based films unrelated to the DC Extended Universe franchise. That’s right, Joker: Folie à Deux is very much its own separate movie.

Number three – I mention this purely because numerous people I have spoken to about this sequel are unaware that it is partly a musical! More than partly, in fact.

Number four – Whatever you do, DO NOT be late! There is a wicked surprise waiting to greet you in the opening sequence that… will put on your happy face. Should you need to rush in a bathroom stop, you’ll have plenty of opportunities during the film! Not something I have ever recommended before or would like to think I’d need to recommend again, but I elaborate further down.

Now, if you have not seen 2019s Joker, please be warned that the remainder of this review may contain spoilers of the original film only.

After the tragic and horrific events that unfolded at the studio of late-night talk show host Murray Franklin during a live television broadcast, Arthur Fleck / Joker (Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix) is incarcerated and awaiting to face his murder trial. His prosecutors are advocating for the death penalty while his lawyer (played by Catherine Keener) believes the Joker is another entity living inside Arthur and wants him to be in hospital care. A timely distraction arrives for Arthur the moment he locks eyes with Harleen “Lee” Quinzel / Harley Quinn (Songwriter, singer, and Oscar-nominated actress Lady Gaga), a patient at Arkham State Hospital who attends music classes and has her own troubles. Despite having limited access to one another, the two share a bond and an obsessive relationship ensues.

If I had to sum up Joker: Folie à Deux in a few words, I’d go with ‘Manufactured’. Heavily and forcibly manufactured. So much of it is just that. It therefore comes as no surprise to learn of those aforementioned first two points after watching the film.

For quite a while during its overly generous 138-minute running time, I did find its storylines utterly compelling and my curiosity as to how the writers would expand on the stunning characterisation they devoted to Arthur / Joker in the first film was kept at bay with suspense. Especially with Lee now in the picture and the uncertainties and doubts various characters bring him. While there is most certainly something to work with here in developing a sequel, making a musical of it is most certainly not one of those somethings! Any appreciation I had for the ambition of originality present is heavily reduced by just how badly conceived and integrated these song and dance sequences truly are. I won’t reveal the place these take in the film, but I can say they do not contribute towards or develop any integral part of the story. In fact, they are so distant to the film’s story and themes, it didn’t take long for me to perceive them as the equivalent of commercial breaks during a program on free to air TV. Need to make a candy bar trip, exit the cinema to use your mobile, or take that bathroom break? Go for it at the commencement of any one of these completely unnecessary musical interludes. It is a letdown that this formula fails miserably but even more so when realising they are also halting the momentum of the story and any tension it is generating. Furthermore, putting it politely, they are unceremoniously performed. Lady Gaga is always great and well-suited to the role but the role is not suited to this film. With the exception of his singing, this is a uniformly accomplished performance from Joaquin Phoenix, but doesn’t elevate from what we saw in Joker, which isn’t his fault courtesy of what he’s given to work with.

Once I had my moment to absorb the events of the film and its conclusion, I must say it is mightily difficult to recognise what its purpose ultimately is. Its uncertainty and lack of objective unravels during a randomly climatic and puzzlingly pointless finale.

Joker was conceived as a standalone film. Man, do I wish it was left that way now.

Joker: Folie à Deux is showing in cinemas across Australia from October 3rd.

Moviedoc thanks Warner Bros. Pictures and Universal Pictures for the invitation to the screening of this film.

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc

Follow on Twitter – Moviedoc / LIKE on Facebook – @moviedoc13 / Follow on Instagram – moviedoc_melbourne / Follow on TikTok – @moviedoc4

©