2019’s Joker grossed over $1 billion worldwide against a $55 million budget, becoming the sixth highest-grossing film of the year. The film also earned widespread acclaim, winning Oscars for Best Actor and Best Original Score on top of nine nominations. While writer/director Todd Phillips intended the movie to be standalone, Warner Bros. pushed for a sequel. Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix initially conceived of a Broadway sequel show, but they scrapped those plans due to COVID-19. In 2022, Phillips announced a sequel was in development, with a script written by him and Scott Silver. That summer, Lady Gaga announced her casting as Harley Quinn, along with Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, and Jacob Lofland joining. Filming lasted from December 2022 to April 2023 in New York and Los Angeles with a substantial $200 million budget. After premiering at the Venice International Film Festival, Joker: Folie à Deux opened worldwide in October 2024.
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Synopsis
Two years after the last film, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is locked away in Arkham State Hospital awaiting trial. While everyone believes that he’s guilty, his lawyer, Maryanne Stewart (Catherine Keener), believes he suffers from a split personality. One day, Arthur meets fellow patient Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (Lady Gaga), and the two fall head-over-heels for each other. Though Maryanne pleads for Arthur’s mental instability, Lee wants him to embrace his Joker personality and take charge. At the trial, Assistant District Attorney Harvey Dent (Harry Lawtey) doesn’t believe Arthur is mentally unwell but is fully aware. The trial becomes a media frenzy, with one side seeking the death penalty and the other making Arthur a hero. As Maryanne argues to try helping Arthur, Lee pulls him further and further into embracing who he truly is: Joker. The outcome of this trial will forever change Gotham City as we know it.
Review
You can say what you will about the original, but you can tell Todd Phillips wanted to make it. Joker: Folie à Deux wreaks of a sequel made only to capitalize off the first film’s success. This movie is such a jumbled mess of ideas that you wonder if anyone knew what they wanted to make. It’s part psychological thriller, part courtroom drama, and part musical, but none of these tones gel cohesively. While the concept of The Joker on trial has potential, it’s a thinly veiled excuse to dump tons of exposition. Whereas the original was well-paced and straightforward, this film is so all over the place that it’s hard to focus. It doesn’t help that the film is littered with many musical numbers that offer little to nothing to the story. That might’ve worked for the Broadway show, but it doesn’t translate well to film.
To get into some of the positives, the performances across the board are good, with Joaquin Phoenix again excelling. As easy as it would’ve been to phone it in, Phoenix goes for it and commits himself to the part. Though unconventional, Lady Gaga does an excellent job as a reimagined Harley Quinn and has great chemistry with Phoenix. As out of place as the musical numbers are, Gaga is a talented singer, and Phoenix works well opposite her. Catherine Keener and Brendan Gleeson are terrific as always, and Leigh Gill has arguably the movie’s best scene. Lawrence Sher’s cinematography is excellent, Hildur Guðnadóttir’s score is as haunting as ever, and the production design is solid. The filmmakers did their best to retain the same grim and gritty feel from the previous film and succeeded. It’s too bad they didn’t devote as much time to the story.
Discussing the story issues is challenging since they involve spoilers, but suffice it to say they’re rough. So much of this movie goes against what the first one established that it feels like an anti-sequel. As grim and nihilistic as the original was, you felt like you went on a fulfilling journey by the end. With this, you’re left with this feeling of fulfillment that makes you wonder if the trip was even worth it. I’m convinced that Warner Bros. forced Phillips to produce a sequel, and he retaliated by making this to spite them. It would explain all the scenes in the trailer that didn’t make the final cut that sell a different movie. At two hours and 18 minutes, the film is a slog to get through and not worth your time. Overall, Joker: Folie à Deux is a reminder that some movies should be left alone.
Joker: Folie à Deux is currently playing in theaters nationwide.
