Venice Film Festival 2024: Joker: Folie À Deux, Phoenix and Gaga’s Bold Move

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The long-awaited sequel to Todd Phillips’ Golden Lion and Oscar-winning film has arrived but Joker: Folie À Deux it’s not so much a turning point, but rather an uncertainty.

We find Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) in Arkham Asylum. He’s awaiting trial for the murder of five people and is enrolled in a music therapy course. Because apparently that’s the reward you get for taking your meds and behaving well.

There he meets Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (Lady Gaga), a pyromaniac who is a huge Joker fan, isn’t afraid to lie when necessary, and has it all figured out. The two embark on a bad love story featuring the successes of Hollywood’s golden age.

“I love her,” Arthur says. “She understands me.” But does she? Or is she teasing him?

Joker: Folie À Deux begins promisingly with a homage to Looney Tunes. We are shown a cartoon called “Me and My Shadow”, the first of many references to the dichotomy, as it emerges that the madness of the title may not be the delirium shared between Arthur and Lee, but the power struggle between Arthur and his alter-ego Joker. This is certainly the multiple personality disorder defense that Arthur’s (Catherine Keener) lawyer is trying to push as the “Trial of the Century” approaches.

The credit also goes to the fact that Joker: Folie À Deux does the opposite of what you would expect from a sequel to Joker; not only does it contain musical numbers, but it is also a (mediocre) prison comedy and a (tedious) courtroom drama that does a disservice to fans of the first film. Especially those who misinterpreted Joker. “Let’s give the people what they want,” Lee whispers to Arthur during a fictional musical number… To Phillip’s credit, he avoids doing this at every opportunity, making Folie À Deuxa clumsy missile aimed at toxic fan culture through wasted metatextual references concerning Arthur’s constant need for reassurance about the quality of the film being made about him after his arrest, and certainly through Lee’s character.

It’s an unexpected move, but it quickly turns out to be predictable and poorly written. Despite the threads that touch on the distorted illusions of the collective unconscious, the cult of personality and the fact that no one cares about the man behind the makeup, Folie À Deux It’s an empty show, with an extreme dose of gimmicks.

The fantasy musical numbers are very well shot by cinematographer Lawrence Sher, but as they pile up they become repetitive and unelaborate, lacking verve and madness. And when you set aside the exceptional work of Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir in favor of unconvincing musical scenes, something has gone wrong, especially when her score was one of the best parts of the first film.

A more courageous statement would have been to make it a real musical. or even reverse the focus by having the story unfold entirely from Lee’s perspective. As it is, Lady Gaga feels wasted as a supporting actor rather than the lead in a double act, and considering how intrinsic her character’s hubris tendencies are to the film’s themes, this baffling decision proves that Phillips hasn’t figured it out. Joker may have earned (excessive) praise for having fused The King of Comedy And Taxi Driverbut this sequel proves that he is the biggest clown of all.

His bold idea to use song and dance numbers falls flat, as they serve no purpose in furthering the narrative or the characters’ motivations; instead they seem like the excuse the director needed to hire GagaWorse yet, the songs chosen are so banal that the sounds of “That’s Entertainment,” “I’ve Got the World on a String,” “What the World Needs Now,” and “Gonna Build A Mountain” are cringeworthy and suggest that Phillips was at a loss for words and simply threw in a few songs to fill the screen.

Phoenix’s dedication to the role is impressive. (he looks even thinner than in the first film, with jutting shoulder blades that threaten to pop out his eyes at any moment), but little is added to his Oscar-winning performance. Not even his best work can save Phillips and co-writer Scott Silver from their clumsy attempts to be innovative and edgy. “I don’t want to sing anymore,” Lee implores toward the film’s final moments. We’re sick of hearing that, too, Arthur.

Insufficient and strangely monotonous, Joker: Folie À Deux It may not give the audience what they want, but it certainly doesn’t offer anything interesting. This is not madness worth entertaining.

Joker: Folie À DeuxIt premiered at the 81st Venice Film Festival in Competition. It hits theaters October 4.