When Todd Phillips released Joker back in 2019, it was a very different sort of film. Now Batman’s most famous arch nemesis has gone from very goofy and campy when Ceasar Romero played him in the 60’s television series to the dark, unhinged performance Heath Ledger gave in the Dark Knight. Each actor from Jack Nicholson to Mark Hamill have their own take on this iconic character and how you feel about each performance is really up to you. Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal was something different than the others because this time. The story would be focused solely on him and it became an alternate origin story and a somewhat character study on mental illness. Taking inspiration from Martin Scorsese classics like Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy. Joker was met with a lot of praise from critics and audiences and even won Phoenix an Oscar for best actor.
A few years later have passed and we now have Joker: Folie a Duex with Phoenix returning as Arthur Fleck aka Joker. This production got a lot of traction on social media when it was announced that Lady Gaga would portray Harley Quinn and that it would be a musical. Than the director stated that it wasn’t really a musical to make sure certain incels wouldn’t get all upset over it. Now the movie is released and it is getting panned by both critics and audiences. With many calling it the worst film of 2024. Now there are a lot of movies that came out this year and this sequel is far from that. It may be disappointing to some who were expecting one thing but got something completely different but that doesn’t make it’s bad. So let’s dive a bit more into this, ok. There will be a few spoilers.
There was hatred of this feature from the start when at the end of the first movie. Joker has killed Murray(Robert DeNiro) the talk show host and have ignited a large group of people to follow him. It seems like the sequel was going to be about his reign to power and maybe we would get an appearance from Batman in this. That idea is scrapped when Arthur is shown in an asylum and waiting trial for his crimes. This makes sense because even though a good portion of the public supports him. There are a lot of people who believe in law and order and would easily have him arrested. It’s like no matter how many people support Trump. He was still found guilty of a number of crimes. While stuck in prison, Arthur escapes his confinement with music and sings some songs. His singing isn’t all that great but it matches the character and it wasn’t an issue. There have been many backlash against the musical numbers because they don’t become this wide grand spectacle people expect from that genre. The only people who ever sing is Arthur Fleck and Lee Quinzel(Gaga) The entire story line is mostly from their perspective. Well Arthur mostly
In the first movie, we are meant to somewhat emphasizes with Arthur because of all the bad things that have happened to him. He is not treated well and was not giving the proper care at all. But despite how terrible some were to him. He did kill at least four or five innocent people and no matter the trauma he may have faced. It doesn’t change the fact that he is a criminal. In this sequel, we never get him fully embracing The Joker persona in this and that is a brave and daring stance. His lawyer played by Catherine Keener believes that he suffers from split personality disorder and that it was this Joker who killed these people and not Arthur. This makes sense because Arthur is a little shy and somewhat withdrawn from people , while Joker is very loud and a lot more confident. People have their own idea about who they think Joker is and nothing more. This is where Lee Quinzel enters the movie.
This is a very different portrayal of Harley Quinn which will garner a lot of backlash but Lady Gaga is incredible and almost steals this movie away from Pheonix. Instead of the usual bombastic crazy persona this character is usually associated with. We get this almost femme fatale vibe to her which was really refreshing. There is a lot of her character that still matches what people have seen in the Batman animated series and the movies featuring the incredible Margot Robbie. But they are grounded in a bit of reality besides the musical numbers.
When Lee and Arthur meet it seems like we are going to get a movie about two lost souls who will join up to beat the system and that they were going to this great power couple. But instead the rug gets pulled out from us when it is revealed that Lee is not actually crazy and that she came to came to the asylum to meet Joker. She was attracted to the idea of a person she knew nothing about. It’s a lot like people who worship certain celebrities. They may think they know a good portion of them through social media but no one will really know them. This movie is not about Joker as a person but more of Joker as an idea. People took that notion and just ran with it wherever they could. Once you make someone an idol because it matches certain beliefs. Trying to change that can be very difficult. Lee may have loved Joker but she never knew or cared for Arthur. No one did. Not even the people watching this movie. Joker: Folie a Duex is more about a human being and less about a character we only associate witha being rhis biiger than life super villian.
If this did go the route many expected with Joker's rise to power. It would be trashed a few years later with many calling it tired and cliched. But by changing the story and doing things no one expects. It has a chance to breathe and find a new audience. Movies should never be judged just by their box office or rotten tomato scores. There is a scene in Back to the Future after Marty Mcfly plays Johnny B Goode to a bunch of kids who looked shocked after hearing him wail on the guitar for several minutes. Afterwards, Marty says that they are not ready for this but that their kids are gonna love it. That is how Joker:Folie a Duex will be come to be years later. A movie that no one really understands today but will be praised years later. Remember when Halloween III: Season of the Witch or Grease 2 was trashed by critics and now are being revaluted as cult classics now. That is exactly what will happen to this movie.
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