*Spoilers ahead for “Joker (2019)”, read at your own discretion*
“Joker: Folie à Deux” was released on Oct. 4 starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga. The first installment of the series, also starring Phoenix, was a hit with an IMDb rating of 8.4/10. It was also the first rated R movie to make over $1 billion in the box office. Although originally meant to be a standalone, after its major success, director Todd Phillips invested into a sequel. The sequel, however, is not appearing as successful, with only a 5.3 IMDb rating. In this review, I will be comparing the two films.
“Joker (2019)” introduces us to a troubled man, Arthur Fleck, who lives with his mother in Gotham City. He is a failed comedian who has never known his father. He suffers with a split personality between Fleck and Joker. The movie beautifully encompasses Fleck’s descent into madness, making it almost relatable. “Joker (2019)” leaves off on an ambiguous note. After Arthur murders talk show host Murray Franklin on live television, he is driven off by a Gotham City police officer as riots start to decimate the city. During the chaos, Thomas and Martha Wayne are killed by a rioter, giving Bruce Wayne (Batman) his backstory.
“Folie à Deux” picks up roughly two years after Joker’s crimes. Fleck is housed in Arkham Asylum while awaiting his trial. In a choir group, he meets Harleen “Lee” Quinzel. Fleck believes Quinzel is the love of his life, giving him a greater purpose. The title of the movie, “Folie à Deux,” is a rare psychiatric condition which directly translates to “shared madness”. People affected by shared madness “transmit” delusions to one another. The definition encompasses the movie’s idea of Fleck and Quinzel’s romance.
Unlike its predecessor, “Folie à Deux” is a musical. The movie itself was good, but the musical genre wasn’t consistent with “Joker (2019)”. While the musical numbers were good, I’m conflicted on how sensical the addition was in the first place. The first movie had no inclusion of music, and Arthur wasn’t a music performer, he was a comic. Making music a main point of the story was a nonsensical decision. Nevertheless, the musical numbers themselves were surprisingly good and the writers capitalized on Lady Gaga’s talent. They were very visually interesting, helping to engage the audience in the otherwise dark, slow plot. They moved the story along in a way that cleared the line between what was reality and what were just Fleck’s delusions, or more Joker-esque moments.
This movie is much less thematically dark than the former. Since the intense crimes already happened in “Joker (2019)”, there’s a different kind of disturbia involved. Instead of intense crime sequences, this movie provides a disturbing look at asylums and the treatment of people with mental illnesses. Personally, I felt that this movie was less disturbing and an easier watch than the first one. It wasn’t necessarily lighter as in more funny or positive, because the movie is still pretty dark. Rather, the lighter moments came from witnessing Fleck experience a different type of joy with Quinzel that he doesn’t see in the first one. She brings a light into his life that wasn’t shown in the former. In terms of humor, “Folie à Deux” is actually less humorous. While Fleck’s jokes aren’t meant to be funny, they’re even worse here, not because of Fleck himself, but because of poor writing choices.
The introduction of the Quinzel character was interesting, giving Fleck something new to latch onto while institutionalized. That being said, she could have been given more depth. With the amount of musical numbers and flat scenes, there could have been flashbacks. Quinzel’s backstory was mainly delivered through dialogue which gets tiring, and could be confusing, especially if you are not familiar with the story from previous comics or movies. Acting by Gaga and Phoenix was passionate and emotional, but poor writing made it hard for them to really flourish. Compared to “Joker (2019)”, this movie fell flat. Gaga and Phoenix were the redeeming qualities of “Folie à Deux”.
