‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ is an Entertaining Mess of Madness

Joker: Folie à Deux

★ ★ ★

This is the inevitable sequel to the 2019 hit Joker, which became the first R-rated movie to gross $1 billion at the box office worldwide. That movie is superior to this film in almost every way. Yet I found myself enjoying this one just a little more. Given the early Rotten Tomatoes score, I’m probably in the minority.

I also thought I had a bead on the ending early into viewing, which I’ll touch more on at the end of this review. Without spoilers, I promise.

Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck
© 2024 Warner Bros.

The first Joker film was a deep dark look into unchecked childhood trauma that eventually manifests into homicidal psychosis. It is a fantastic character study that will leave its marks of depression on you long after the credits roll.

Joker: Folie à Deux is still very much a dark movie, but there’s still an occasional sense of psychotic whimsey that the killer clown of DC Comics is known for. We get flashes of this, and when we do, moments of brilliance.

This film is a courtroom drama, a prison drama and a love story that takes place shortly after the events of the original. It’s also part musical, which works in some areas but becomes tedious and annoying in others. The scenes where characters break out into song work best when they appear to be psychotic breaks.

Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), aka Joker, is a patient in the mental institution that houses the psychotic criminals in the Batman movies and comics, Arkham Asylum. He’s awaiting pre-trial evaluations to determine if he’s mentally fit to stand criminal trial for five murders from the first film and will remain in Arkham’s custody until the conclusion of the trial.

Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck and Lady Gaga as Lee Quinzel
© 2024 Warner Bros.

While in Arkham, Arthur meets a new friend, Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga), aka Joker’s comic book love interest Harley Quinn. Lee is infatuated with Arthur and is enamored with his alter ego. The two quickly fall in love, and Lee tries to convince Arthur to allow himself to be more Joker, as she feels it’s his true self.

Meanwhile, Arthur’s lawyer, Maryanne Stewart (Catherine Keener), is trying to convince the court through psychological evaluations that he has a split personality, brought on by extreme childhood abuse. She argues that Arthur is not responsible for the murders Joker committed. This argument fails, and Aruthur stands trial.

Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn
© 2024 Warner Bros.

This movie has a lot of great ideas that are rarely committed to. Situations are presented, but ultimately go nowhere. For example, as we approach the midpoint of the film, Lee tells Arthur she’s pregnant not long after their first sexual encounter in Arkham. But there’s hardly any follow-up. Such is the case for several promising subplots.

The previous film benefited from a much tighter script, a more in-depth character study, fantastic cinematography and a masterfully foreboding score. Here, we have a much weaker script and a shallow look into Arthur and Lee.

Joker and Lee Quinzel
© 2024 Warner Bros.

Honestly, this film is a bit of a mess, but one that I mostly enjoyed, because of the quick glimpses we get at The Clown Prince of Crime who will eventually become the infamous Batman villain. I’m even willing to overlook some of the musical numbers.

I was right about the ending, and I was glad to see them take this direction. As far as I’m concerned, it kind of saved the movie, and it worked rather well.

Crime, Drama, Musical