The much-awaited sequel of the 2019 psychological thriller film Joker: Folie à Deux/Joker 2 hit the theatres on October 4th, 2024, with Todd Philips at the helm of affairs and Joaquin Phoenix returning as the Killer Clown of Gotham, Arthur Fleck/Joker, with the additional casting of Lady Gaga as Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn.
After its initial announcement in 2019, Joker: Folie à Deux generated quite a buzz among fans and movie lovers as it was announced to be a musical, an entirely different genre from its predecessor.
As a result of this decision, the internet was divided. Gaga’s portrayal of Harley Quinn in A Star Is Born in 2018 inspired some skeptics, but others took a positive view of the genre’s subversion and Gaga’s acting skills. To the latter’s disappointment, the film was one of the lowest openers in the DC Universe, with a lower box office performance than films like Madame Web and Morbius.
Keeping the business aspect aside, we will try to dissect why Joker: Folie à Deux failed to make an impact with the audiences—was it the creative risks that missed the mark, or did it fail to live up to the high expectations set by its predecessor?
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What Went Wrong With Joker: Folie à Deux/Joker 2?
Subversion of Genre
The biggest disconnect people felt with Folie à Deux was its subversion of genre. The first film managed to enchant viewers from the first frame because it was treated as a psychological thriller. It managed to portray Arthur Fleck’s helplessness and loneliness. Another key element of the film was the world-building, where the city of Gotham became a character in itself with its dingy streets, low-lit alleys, and dreadful sidewalks, which people resonated with.
In Folie à Deux, the makers try to give us a glimpse of Arthur Fleck’s conscience through the usage of songs, which breaks the flow of the film and its world. The songs seem ornamental and misplaced, adding nothing to the world of the characters or stories, unlike films like La La Land (2016) or Tick, Tick…Boom! (2021).
There are a number of scenes that were quite intense on their own, but then the film disconnected itself and broke into random song-and-dance numbers, completely unrelated, much to the dismay of the audience.
There is a moment in the film where Arthur Fleck begs Lee to stop singing, and sadly, that is the only moment with which the audience resonates.
Weak Writing and Screenplay
Although the first film was evidently inspired by the 1976 Martin Scorsese film Taxi Driver, writers Todd Philips and Scott Silver also contributed their own input by moulding the story into a non-linear screenplay structure, jumping back and forth between timelines.
They also used inspiration from comic books like Batman: The Killing Joke (1988) and The Dark Knight Returns (1986). Other than that, the film was reasonably economical in its allotment of screen time, keeping it concise and to the point.
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With Folie à Deux, the screenplay was all over the place. The film begins with an animated sequence to subvert the first film by trying to add the new narrative that Arthur Fleck was never in control of himself and that his alternate “persona,” Joker, committed all the crimes. At the same time, he helplessly watched the monster take control of his life.
The fact that this information is established in the first five minutes of the film would have sufficed, but the film constantly tries to reiterate the same troupe of dual identities, adding little to nothing to the narrative.
Certain subplots, however, had the potential to be explored. For instance, Arthur battles his Joker persona, the origin of Lee, or the exploration of Arthur and Lee’s dynamic in non-musical scenes. Arthur, who gave complete control to the Joker’s “persona” while fighting his case or his relationship with Gary, the midget clown, also had great dramatic potential.
These elements could have made for compelling subplots or plot points that would have greatly benefitted the film. As a result, these ideas are barely touched upon in the film and left unexplored.
Misplaced Musical Numbers
Films like Moulin Rouge! (2001), La La Land (2016), Beauty and the Beast (2017), The Greatest Showman (2017), and A Star is Born (2018) come to mind if one were to think about musicals. These films also had quite a number of songs in their narrative. Still, they also managed to enthral the audience, as they were placed in the right moments in these films, and they also elevated a particular emotion and heightened it, which made us empathise with the characters more.
Folie à Deux, much like its title, tries to portray the “madness of two,” but does so through a series of misplaced musical numbers.
There are around 3-4 musical sequences whose sole purpose seems to be establishing that Arthur and Lee are in love, something that was already clear by their second meeting. The film becomes a slog of song-and-dance numbers that do nothing to move the narrative forward.
Mediocre Acting
Joaquin Phoenix won the Oscar for Best Actor in the Male Category for his performance in the first film. In this film, Phoenix tried to put his best foot forward, like Joker (2019), when it came to the physical transformation for the role, but he had little to no room to showcase his acting prowess as the film required him to break out into random singing sequences and, in an instance or two, dancing.
Lady Gaga’s portrayal of Lee contrasts with her portrayal of Ally in A Star Is Born (2018). She could not give the most basic expressions in the film and was mostly wooden. As a performer, she was amazing in the musical sequences, which made the film more like her concert film Gaga: Five Feet Two (2017).
Confused Theme and Poor Execution
It would not be wrong to assume that writers Todd Philips and Scott Silver were trying to get the audiences to question themselves (which did happen, but not in the way they would have wanted it to happen) about their reception of the first part. After the release of the first film, Arthur Fleck’s character became quite the internet phenomenon. Many netizens identified with the character and what he represented, and some even tried to defend him.
They would have hit the jackpot if the writing was done as grandly as their idea: “A film that completely subverts itself in its second part by taking each and every element of its first part and throwing it out of the window.” The idea sounds fantastic on paper. Still, it also requires the skill set, vision, and, more importantly, conviction from the filmmaker to execute this grand idea.
The problem lies in the fact that Folie à Deux constantly tries to re-establish what it had already established in the first film. The character graphs of both films have the same beat: Arthur Fleck’s descent into madness, which made the first film quite fascinating and is the exact reason why the second film fell flat to its face.
There are admirers of the Joker in the film, which can be seen as a deliberate nod to the toxic fanbase of the first film and how they relish toxicity. But they are not utilised or addressed at all. It could have been a great opportunity to explore this dynamic, which was sadly overlooked.
Joker: Folie à Deux: Conclusion
In conclusion, Joker: Folie à Deux was a missed opportunity. It had all the potential to be one of the best films of the year, with its cast of incredible actors and its humongous budget. Still, it sadly succumbed to the absence of a good story, its lack of nuance in writing, and its confusion with the tonality and treatment of the overall film.