Joaquin Phoenix returns as Arthur Fleck, this time in an all-new, musical form. In Joker: Folie à Deux, directed again by Todd Phillips, the story moves from the dark streets of Gotham to the even more wonderful and deranged interior of Arkham Asylum. Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn brings freshness, but perhaps not enough to save the film from its inevitable weaknesses. Is Joker still the cinematic force he was in 2019?
When it appeared in 2019 Joker, the film took everyone by surprise—it became a cultural phenomenon, raising dust for its brutal interpretation of Arthur Fleck's psychological breakdown. Expectations for the sequel were therefore extremely high. Now, five years later, here it is Joker: Folie à Deux, which, instead of a more in-depth character study, serves up a bold departure - with musical credits featuring Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn. But does this experiment work?
The film takes us back to Arthur's World, this time with a deeper look at his inner split. The story takes place mainly in the dark environment of Arkham Asylum, where the Joker is now imprisoned, and Lady Gaga enters the scene as Harley Quinn, his new therapist and soon also his emotional companion. This relationship forms the core of the film, but unfortunately it doesn't quite achieve the desired effect.
The most striking change in the film is its decisive introduction of music. Phillips turns the film into a jukebox musical, in which we hear iconic tunes from different eras, from Frank Sinatra to Judy Garland. Phoenix and Gaga sing, but there aren't as many of those musical moments as you might expect from a film that strives to be semi-deep. These scenes are mostly intended to show the internal states of the characters, but many times it feels like the film is losing its rhythm and focus (Geek Culture).
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While some of the musical sequences are imaginative and well-executed, they repeatedly interrupt the film's narrative flow. Instead of elevating the story, these numbers feel forced and awkward, which is especially true of the courtroom scenes, where the film devolves into a strange mash-up of genres that lacks coherence (Rotten Tomatoes). Critics praised the individual performances – especially Phoenix's reprise as Arthur Fleck, who manages to retain some of his earlier complexity, and Lady Gaga, who brings freshness with her signature energy but falls short of the depths she showed in A Star is Born (Hollywood Reporter).
One of the most common criticisms is that the film lacks the weight and emotional depth of the first part. Although it seems to want to explore a new dimension of the Joker's madness and his relationship with Harley Quinn, many elements feel superficial and repetitive at times (Screenrant). Gaga does stand out in some strong scenes, but her character Harley isn't given enough room to develop, leaving her a shadow of what she could have been.
One of the most successful aspects of the film is once again Hildur Guðnadóttir's outstanding score, which the critic Deadline described as "immensely dark and mysterious". The music certainly adds to the atmosphere of the film, but even this cannot completely hide its narrative inconsistency.
At the end Joker: Folie à Deux it doesn't achieve the same shocking and provocative effect as the original. Although it tries to go in a new direction, it loses what made the first film so exciting and hard to forget. Like the Joker himself, the film navigates between insanity and brilliance, but ultimately lands somewhere in between.
