There is plenty of debate to be had over what a good sequel should do, and there are no wrong answers. Should they go bigger, or deeper? Some choose one or the other, while others find a balance and do both. For JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX, the sequel to the Oscar-winning hit JOKER from 2019, there is no attempt at all to go bigger.
Arthur/The Joker (Joaquin Phoenix), is incarcerated at the inhumane Arkham Hospital, awaiting trial for five murders. There, in a music class, he meets Lee (Lady Gaga), a fellow patient who is obsessed with his Joker persona.
To say much more of the plot wouldn’t be giving away much, because there isn’t much more to give away. Written and directed by Todd Phillips (who helmed JOKER), this second go-around has very little to do. Arthur waits around for his trial, the trial begins, a little bit of chaos happens, and then right back to Arkham.
Beefing things up is Arthur’s struggle with himself: is he Arthur, or the Joker? It’s an interesting question that puts him in a tough spot: Lee loves him for the Joker, and the persona has been idolized in pop culture around Gotham. At his trial, blaming a split personality for the murders works in his favor. Arthur struggles with this, and this is explored in his head via musical numbers with himself and Lee. The numbers are clever in places, spectacular in others, and do well to express what’s going on in Arthur’s complicated head, but the thin and sluggish story in-between the singing and dancing makes it feel less of a movie and more like a highlight reel.
Phillips is playing with themes of mental illness, love, and hero worship. Solid themes to work with but the film gets bogged down with it; there’s plot and theme, and FOLIE A DEUX is 95% theme. But when it isn’t brooding and sulking, there’s some pieces to admire: the cinematography is stunning, and the soundtrack has a great balance between chilling and toe-tapping.
Acting is excellent to a point. Joaquin Phoenix once again is mesmerizing. Lady Gaga is brilliant in her acting and her singing performances, and she commits to the thin material she’s given. The issue around her is she feels underutilized and is never let off the leash; the film cheats her and it feels like a waste of her powerhouse talent. The supporting cast of Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Zazie Beetz, and Steve Coogan are all excellent.
One thing that all sequels should do is to smash expectations, and this JOKER sequel certainly does that. It takes some big swings in providing shocks and surprises, and the biggest shock of them all comes in the ending. It’s a bold way to go out, and is sure to spark plenty of outrage and debate. But overall, it completely changes how we view the first film and everything that after to that point, and not in a great way. FOLIE A DEUX has its moments here and there, but nothing much after.
BOTTOM LINE: Rent it
