Joker: Folie à Deux [2024]: Review /Summary (with Spoilers)

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Plot Summary

With it being the trial of the century, the trial of Arthur Fleck was something Harvey Dent wanted to take his time with. I mean, everyone knows Arthur, or Joker, is guilty – he killed a man on national television. However, with facing a defense attorney trying to convince a jury that Arthur is insane, focus is required.

However, it isn’t just Harvey but Arthur who needs to focus and because of a fan named Lee, short for Harleen Quinzell, Arthur can’t focus. He is in love and with Harley loving Joker, Arthur tries to embody that being more and more. But, how long can a nobody masquerade as a somebody until the face paint wears off?

Noted Cast and Characters Of “Joker: Folie à Deux”

Joaquin Phoenix As Arthur Fleck aka Joker

Infamous for five murders, later 6 when you count his mother, Arthur’s fame is something which brings him immense joy. Granted, not while he takes his meds, but when off his meds? He can enjoy the madness of the world around him, of which he created. But while it is fun being in the center of the storm, thinking nothing can hurt you, reality eventually pulls him off the ground and throws him into a wall.

The actor is also known for their role in “Beau is Afraid.”

Harry Lawtey As Harvey Dent

The DA for Gotham, Harvey is the prosecution against Arthur and even though this seems like an easy case, he is still giving Arthur due process.

The actor is also known for their role in “Industry.”

Lady Gaga As Lee aka Harleen Quinzell

Lee is a huge fan of Joker, not so much Arthur, to the point she has made it a goal of hers to be in his space and share delusions with him. But, whether she is so enamored with Joker she could fall in love with the man behind the face paint is hard to say. After all, Lee may not be a murderer, but she is a bit out of her mind as well.

The actor is also known for their role in “A Star Is Born.”

What ” Joker: Folie à Deux ” Is Rated and Why

Content Rating: Rated R

Dialog: No Notable Language (To Much Surprise)
Violence: Gun Violence, Blood, Torture, Threats Of Self-Harm, Notable Fight Scenes
Sexual Content: Sexual Situations (Implied)
Miscellaneous: Smoking

Review

Our Rating: Mixed (Divisive)

Where To Watch This:

Check out our movies page for our latest movie reviews and recommendations.

Highlights

Fake It Till You Make It Doesn’t Mean You Can Maintain It

The best thing you can say about “Joker: Folie à Deux” is that it shows you the rise and fall of a man whose delusions of grandeur gave him his 15 minutes of fame. Arthur, in the first Joker, set off not only the people in the movie, but also viewers. The presentation of a man who was forgotten, discarded, treated like nothing, and he got revenge on damn near everyone spoke to people. Hell, I’d submit some lived vicariously through Arthur Fleck and maybe, albeit in a twisted way, found him to be a voice for them.

In this film, it reminds you that all heroes, or villains, are just people. I’d even say, it reminds you why there was such an allure about famous people before social media and 24 hour news cycles, because there was an air of mystery. But, as we see how delusional Arthur is, as we see him struggle to maintain this dream he has concoct with Lee, you realize this man isn’t Joker. He is just a sad clown, who one day snapped because he couldn’t take it anymore, and in “Joker: Folie à Deux” he is just chasing who that person was, because it was never truly him.

On The Fence

The Musical Numbers

With the exception of “Gonna Build A Mountain,” most of the musical numbers in “Joker: Folie à Deux” will make you so sorely wish this didn’t put music and song and dance numbers to Arthur’s delusions. 9/10 they will take you out of the moment as Phoenix or Lady Gaga sing, and it almost seems like a middle finger to anyone who enjoyed the first movie for anything that didn’t warrant major accolades.

And note, it isn’t because Phoenix can’t dance or carry a tune, movies like “La La Land” show the actors don’t have to be capable of doing the Super Bowl, Oscars for films that allow themselves to be called musicals, or getting Grammys. No, the problem is that “Joker: Folie à Deux” feels like counter programming to the first movie, and in an effort to distance itself from the original, it made sure to turn its back on the audience which found the first one great.

The Deconstruction Of What Many May Have Loved About The Original

Originally, Phoenix was against a sequel, and I’d submit he should have stuck to it. For while the original one was a character study into someone who was losing his sense of self, his purpose, and found himself so downtrodden and unlucky it was either escaped into a delusion or die in misery, I’d submit “Joker: Folie à Deux” doesn’t have any desire to go that deep.

Yes, it shows Arthur is a delusional man, but it doesn’t go into the madness as it did before because, there is Lee, love, and musical numbers. Arthur has all the attention and admiration he has longed for, but as much as the 2019 film felt like it tapped into a neglected type of person how society treats them and drives them to extremism, “Joker: Folie à Deux” doesn’t feel like the counterbalance of that.

Do people like Lee perhaps love Joker and not give a damn about Arthur Fleck – absolutely. But it doesn’t dig into that duality much. The man who is nothing without the violence, the face paint, the antics, he is seen but only in one weak scene towards the end does he wrestle with the fact he can’t keep up the façade and what it requires. So, all this joy and admiration he is experiencing, it requires him to almost be as bad as all the people who have made his life miserable.

The film literally blows up the moment of reckoning for Arthur and the only solace is that “Joker: Folie à Deux” ends in such a way where Phoenix’s version of the Joker can’t comeback and tarnish the character further. Though, another Joker may have risen from his ashes.

General Information

Film Length

2 Hours 18 Minutes

Date Released

September 30, 2024

Distributor

Warner Bros.

The distributor is also known for “Don’t Worry Darling.”

Director(s)

Todd Phillips

The director is also known for “Joker.”

Writer(s)

Todd Phillips, Scott Silver

Based On Work By

Bob Kane, Paul Dini, Bill Finger, Bruce Timm, Jerry Robinson

Genre(s)

Crime, Drama, Fantasy, Romance

Listed Under Categories: Movies, Mixed (Divisive)

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