Joker: Folie à Deux delivers artistic and stunning visual but fails to live up to its hype

Even Joaquin Phoenix's cold Joker and Lady Gaga's cleverly intimidating version of Harley couldn't manage to live up to fans' expectations of Joker: Folie à Deux.

If you walked out of the movie wondering how you feel about this, well, you are not alone. An artistic, musical sequel by Todd Phillips to its very successful predecessor, Joker: Folie à Deux is exactly like the title, I have no idea how to say it. The movie is more about Arthur Fleck than Joker and that’s all you need to know.

This movie continues from where it left off, with Arthur in an institution, after committing five murders. While he struggles with his identity and is constantly looked down upon and ignored by people, he meets the love of his life. Lee Quinzel aka Harley Quinn, also incarcerated at Arkham, becomes Arthur’s sole cheerleader. She stands with him as he faces a trial for all the murders he committed that are broadcasted to Gotham City.

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This movie was able to focus on Arthur as a person even though we walk in expecting the makers to bring out his lunatic self through Joker. We get a broader perspective of how Joker is nothing but a way for him to escape his own misery. It also showed how Joker became an identity of its own without Arthur even realizing that and the admiration that came with it, which made him want to embrace the persona. He finds people idealizing the Joker, and even though he tries to give in to this hero worship, he succumbs to his own fears and vulnerability in the end. One cannot ignore the melancholy about Arthur. It was always the fact that despite being pictured as a bad guy, you know there isn’t enough callousness in him considering how he feels for the people who are nice to him. 

Joaquin Phoenix is, without a doubt, great at the revival of his Oscar-winning character. He manages to bring out everything that made his Joker iconic without leaving the magic behind. But at a certain point, it also starts feeling a little too overdone. Like he was trying to outdo the bar he set for himself, especially in the trial scene. But as a fan of his portrayal, one can spend hours watching him try to play around with the character, because you know he'll deliver at the end.

Playing a character that will be back to becoming the top Halloween costume, Lady Gaga had the pressure to bring something different from what her fellow thespian had offered. The singer-songwriter excelled in convincingly playing her version that's more controlled but equally terrifying. There would have been a world-whirl of possibilities, especially since Arthur had unleashed his ferocious self for the world to see when he went on killing his bullies and the person he idolized for letting him down. But all we got a lot of was Gaga’s Lee and him, which again was more about Harley’s adulation for the terror that Joker brought, which made it worth watching. This admiration and thought that someone finally cares for him only invigorates him to take on the act of his life giving us some of the chilling moments we were expecting from the film. 

It feels weird to know that Todd didn't want to call the film a musical when it's exactly that. There is always something oddly formidable about “villains” doing anything that is not otherwise considered villainy, like singing. Todd chooses to use music as a way for Arthur to express his feelings. Even though they had a great artistic way of doing it, it feels like a failed attempt in some moments. When Arthur literally says, 'No more singing, talk to me' to Harley, the entire theatre feels that. If you are not a fan of musicals, this one is not for you. 

What makes it a hit is definitely Todd’s masterpiece frames. Every frame's angles, tone, and feel that made the first movie iconic were not left behind. You can see his visions onscreen with shots that grab your attention in a mesmerizing way. You realize one of the many reasons why you loved the first film. Even then, that's all it ends up being.

Joker: Folie à Deux is now running in theatres.