Yes, ‘Joker: Folie a Deux’ Trumps 2019 Blockbuster

Todd Phillips’ “Joker: Folie a Deux” (hereafter referred to as “Joker 2”) defies expectations and will put to the test all of the pre-packaged welcome and fanboy glee that greets it.

The return of Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck, aka Joker, isn’t another opportunity to watch Phoenix murder in the name of nihilistic comic book authenticity, nor another attempt to mimic (or steal outright from) Martin Scorsese’s “The King of Comedy” (1983) and “Taxi Driver” (1976).

Instead, Phillips has made an honest-to-goodness musical, with visual allusions to “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” (1964) and “Dancer in the Dark” (2000) as just a few of the many reference points.

Phoenix’s Fleck is now incarcerated and awaiting trial, with his extremely patient lawyer (Catherine Keener) struggling to keep him restrained, while the lead prison guard (Brendan Gleason) abuses him. When Fleck meets Lee (Lady Gaga) an enchanting, dark soul with an obvious crush on him, Fleck finds someone to live for, even as he’s just barely trying to keep his Joker persona under wraps.

Considering how much Fleck’s story resembles the horror show of Bernie Goetz’s 1984 New York City subway shooting and the shocking turns that followed, it is fascinating to see Phillips and screenwriter Scott Silver take this in the direction of a Goetz-infused daydream. I’m unsure that we need the interesting but crass animated short that opens the film but I’m positive that Phillips missed a golden opportunity by repeatedly referencing a TV movie made about Fleck but never showing us a clip.

Phillips’ film is a high-wire act from start to finish, the rare occasion where everyone involved decided to take a real chance on alienating material and not simply provide a bigger sequel that retells the same story. Even when the first act is still warming up, Phillips directs the hell out of every scene, including some long tracking shots that must have been a nightmare to choreograph.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The story is sad and often unpleasant, as it was in the first film, but avoids being redundant and obvious, which was most of “Joker” (2019). Aside from the riveting sequence that pit Phoenix against Robert De Niro, there is little in the blockbuster original that I’d care to revisit.

The controversy, pre-release hype and accolades attached to Phoenix’s performance made it a phenomenon, but here is a follow-up that is not only better but, amusingly, disinterested in audience adoration.

Although “Joker 2” is a musical, this a creative choice that avoids any obvious or commercial directions, even with Lady Gaga in the cast. At times, we’re seeing musical numbers break out, reflecting the fantasies of the characters.

Just as frequently, characters simply break out into song and sometimes it’s instinctive, such as when we sing along with a song on the car radio and aren’t even aware of it.

The model adapted for the musical numbers isn’t anything traditional or contemporary, like “La La Land” (2016), but Dennis Potter musicals, like “Pennies from Heaven” (1978) or “The Singing Detective” (1986), where musical numbers (fantasies or otherwise) are mental escapes that wallpaper over the real tragedies taking place.

At times, it’s a joy to hear Lady Gaga belt a big number on a highly stylized set but, just as often, she’s giving an intentionally pitchy, rough-voiced take on a radio standard. Likewise, Phoenix, whose singing here ranges from tolerable to far less than that.

It reminded me of Woody Allen’s “Everyone Says I Love You” (1996), a little-seen musical in the Potter mode where actors are either singing well with proper accompaniment (like Edward Norton) or, more often than not, giving musical interpretations that sound like emotional, tone-deaf rounds of karaoke.

Yes, ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ Is a Musical: Everything Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga Have Said About Its Singing https://t.co/N7vlAJKE7w

— People (@people) October 4, 2024

Phoenix is still giving a highly-mannered turn that will either strike some as tour de force acting, a commentary on performance itself or a smattering of both. I still think his best performance is in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master” (2012) and that his take on Arthur Fleck is like an extension of his work in the Anderson film.

At times, his Brando-esque turn here is extraordinary, but I also grew tired of it. Thankfully, he’s paired with the dazzling Lady Gaga – they have terrific chemistry, and her performance has depth and nuanced acting choices.

Unlike Margot Robbie’s take on the character, Lady Gaga isn’t playing Harley Quinn as gleefully crazy but as a lost soul who finds the wrong man to be her messiah; Lady Gaga makes Harley Quinn vulnerable and tragic.

I loved the musical numbers, even as every single one of them feels like a press-PAUSE intrusion on the story instead of an extension of it. Although Phillips has made a musical with a three-act structure (prison film, courtroom drama, love story), this isn’t a watered-down or any less nihilistic work than its predecessor.

In fact – and I won’t describe it or provide any spoilers – the disturbing final scene, which is so cruel and comes as a shock, manages to be poetic justice and tragic at the same time.

I haven’t stopped thinking about it.

“Joker 2” will be a challenge for most, even those who adored the stubbornly unlovable original. What Phillips and his team have created is distancing, often experimental and risky.

Coming a week after the all-or-nothing roll of the dice that is “Megalopolis” (which I adore), it’s exciting and encouraging to see yet another lavish movie, getting a mainstream wide release, that wants to challenge its audience as sincerely as it wants to entertain.

Three Stars

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