Films at their best: Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)

Hey everyone, welcome back to another week of reviewing all things film-related.

Sorry for not posting last week, life has been a bit hectic!

This week, we'll dive into the Joker's sequel return.

WARNING - Spoilers

Plot 

During an animated short film, the Joker is impersonated by his shadow who takes his place during a musical number, but later merges back with the Joker when police arrive and attack him.

Arthur Fleck is held in custody at Arkham State Hospital awaiting trial for the murders he committed two years ago. His lawyer argues that his Joker personality is responsible for the crimes. He later meets Harleen "Lee" Quinzel, who claims she grew up in the same neighbourhood he did, had an abusive father who died in a car crash and set a blaze to her parents apartment, where she was later imprisoned. The pair's relationship develops, and Lee shows admiration for Joker's crimes.

Later on, Lee starts a fire, and both of them are caught. Arthur is then placed in solitary confinement. Lee visits him to tell him she is being released, promising to attend his trial.

On the day of the trial, Arthur's lawyer, Maryanne, reveals that Lee was a psychiatry student who grew up on the Upper West Side, revealing that her father and doctor are alive. She voluntarily committed herself to Arkham, checked herself out, and never even burnt down an apartment building. Lee tells Arthur that she did those things to get close to him and claims she is pregnant after their night together and has moved into his old apartment. He then imagines a scenario where they are singing on television before Lee shoots him.

The next day at the trial, Arthur represents himself and brings his former co-worker Gary Puddles to the stand. Arthur is left with no defence and is affected by Gary's testimony. Arthur presents a speech and mocks the Arkham guards and says they abuse him. He is then later beaten by a head guard. An inmate and friend of Arthur's, Ricky, verbally confronts the head guard. He is then garroted to death.

On the last day of court, Arthur renounces his Joker persona and takes full responsibility for his actions. Lee walks out, and Arthur is found guilty of murder. As the verdict is being read, a bomb explodes outside the courthouse, injuring and killing many people. Arthur escapes, and whilst wandering around the streets of Gotham City, he encounters Lee on the stairs outside his old apartment. She rejects him and the police catch Arthur.

The next day, a guard directs Arthur down an empty hallway to meet a visitor. A young inmate pretends to tell Arthur a joke, but begins stabbing him repeatedly in the abdomen. Arthur falls to the floor, bleeding to death, revisiting the scene of Lee shooting him, while the inmate carves a smile on his own face.

Analysis

The musical shift that this film took made it difficult for me to watch. The first film was a dark, gritty and psychological thriller that highlighted Joker and what he's known for. Joker evolves from the DC comic book franchise, and its sequel was, well, let's say, disappointing from a personal viewpoint.

This jukebox musical, to say the least, did show the interpersonal connection between Arthur and Lee, but it could not follow a traditional plot development between two popular DC characters.

There was also a lot of repetition between the courtroom and the prison cells, and I found that Arthur and Lee spent a lot of time away from one another once his trial began.

However, I did enjoy the difference in colour dynamics between the dreary look and feel of Gotham City compared to the colourful theatrical drama sequences.

I do appreciate the ambition that was taken to transform the sequel into a musical, but for me, it just didn't work.