Joker: Folie à Deux - Where the madness stumbles

The sequel to the Joaquin Phoenix starrer Joker: Folie à Deux has been the talk of the town lately and not for the best of reasons. Critics and audiences alike have slammed the film, many hating the idea of the Clown Prince of Crime singing and dancing his troubles away.

As a lifelong Batman fan open to new interpretations, I believe a musical twist on the Joker could work if done right. Safe to say, director Todd Philips nearly pulled it off.

The plot is fairly simple, some might argue a bit too simple, while some may say there is none at all. Yet despite all its artistic brilliance and a bone-chilling performance from Phoenix, the film fails to deliver a coherent narrative and collapses under the weight of its ambitions.

What Worked

The film had many visually stunning moments, most of it feels like a Broadway production—in the best way. Joaquin Phoenix’s body language, facial expressions, and maniacal laugh are surely what prompted the execs at WB Studios to greenlight a sequel in the first place. The musical moments are captivating, revealing the Joker’s twisted psyche and his growing delusion.

The first half is gripping and has you glued to the screen. Todd Philips directs brilliantly, crafting beautiful sequences, reminding the viewers of Hollywood classics. The musical numbers are masterfully executed where Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix sing and perform their hearts out. Their singing chemistry works well while the song choices are immaculate in terms of the mood and setting of the film. The Big Band jazz-inspired soundtrack puts a dark twist on some recognizable 40s and 50s classics.

The narrative builds well into itself, showcasing Joker and Lee Quinzel’s relationship and how music is such an essential part of it. The courtroom scenes, especially the return of Mr. Puddles, are among the most engaging moments, with Phoenix delivering probably one of his best performances as the Joker.

What Didn’t Work

As I was an hour and 30 minutes into the film, I wondered why people did not like the film as I felt it was going well so far. That’s when the film narrative completely flipped over its head and sucker-punched everyone sitting in that theater. From that moment onwards, the story began to implode, with the Joker suddenly concluding that he is truly Arthur Fleck and not the Joker. The events that follow unfold like a bad joke, with no real explanation provided, rushing towards their destruction.

The horrible end to Arthur Fleck’s Joker saga isn't the film's only downfall; Lady Gaga is a strong reason as well. Her portrayal of Harley Quinn, in this case, Lee Quinzel (as if shortening names somehow adds depth!) is simply horrible. The performance seems very shallow and casual, and she feels disengaged while Phoenix fully inhabits his role. Despite her amazing musical contributions, her acting falls flat and despite having a well-written character, doesn't make any real impact or connection with the viewer.

While most musical moments in the film work and provide a look inside the twisted mind of the Joker, some merely seem to exist to kill time as there isn’t much of a story to tell. Like the previous film, this one also takes the approach of being a character study however fails to do it as well as its predecessor.

The reliance on callback moments from the previous film also makes the overall pacing of the film extremely slow. The climax leaves much to be desired as it completely disregards the story it spent so much time building for itself in the first place, making it seem as if Phillips and Co. just rushed the film toward the end without giving it much thought.

Verdict

Joker Folie à Deux despite its flashes of brilliance, suffers a tragic lack of creativity as far as the ending of the saga is concerned. Despite a stellar performance from Joaquin Phoenix and an amazing, musically rich soundtrack, the plot holes, or rather lack of plot is what ultimately make this concept go to waste. This coupled with Lady Gaga’s horrible acting chops make it enough reasons for fans to bash the film. Even with a non-purist comic book perspective like mine, the film fails to live up to what it truly promised to be.

The ending of the film, in particular, seems to be an ode to the ending that feels just as rushed and careless as the plot of Game of Thrones’ final season. In the words of the Joker himself, madness is like gravity, all one needs is a push; in Todd Phillip's case, he may have pushed one too many times truly descending his film into a pit where nothing makes sense at all.