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3rd October 2024
04:40pm BST
When Joker: Folie à Deux was announced, no one really knew what to expect.
After all, the original didn't seem like the most mainstream proposition ahead of its release - a super grounded and dramatic retelling of a Batman villain's origin story without Batman and deeply inspired by Taxi Driver.
And yet, it was a huge hit both critically and commercially, giving director Todd Phillips essentially a blank cheque to get even weirder for a follow-up.
And when it was announced that the sequel would co-star Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn and that it would be some kind of musical, it was truly hard to fathom what Joker 2 would look like - although, you'd be forgiven for thinking the movie would follow the superhero format and go bigger and more expansive with its second entry.
Indeed, Phillips and his co-star Joaquin Phoenix (who won an Oscar for his first outing as the Clown Prince of Crime) have made a strange follow-up, but not in the way you'd expect.
Almost in defiance to Joker: Folie à Deux's DC and Marvel superhero sequel contemporaries, the film is much smaller in scope. It's a movie boasting little action, where a significant portion takes place within the mind of its anti-hero, that feels designed to annoy fans of the original. In our opinion though, it's very compelling in its oddities.
The movie opens with a gorgeous Looney Tunes-inspired animation made by acclaimed French filmmaker Sylvain Chomet (The Triplets of Belleville) depicting Phoenix's Arthur Fleck in battle with his literal shadow - a motif which cleverly foreshadows the story to come.
After this intro, we are reintroduced to a quieter, more introspective Fleck in custody at Arkham Asylum under the watchful eye of the sadistic guard Jackie Sullivan (played by a scary Brendan Gleeson - adding a much-needed live-wire energy).
Fleck is being housed at Arkham as he awaits trial for the series of murders he committed in the 2019 original.
District attorney Harvey Dent (Harry Lawtey) wants the killer to receive the death penalty for his actions, while Fleck's lawyer (Catherine Keener) is aiming to get her client off on an insanity defence.
Her argument is that Fleck suffers from dissociative identity disorder, with one personality being the sad, tamer Arthur Fleck and the other being the flamboyant, murderous Joker.
As Fleck wrestles with his own relationship to his Joker persona, he falls in love with Harleen 'Lee' Quinzel (Lady Gaga, obviously excellent), a woman that he meets in an Arkham Asylum music class - who idolises him for his past crimes.
Aside from a handful of other big scenes - one featuring a welcome Steve Coogan as a Piers Morgan-esque TV presenter who interviews Fleck at Arkham - Joker: Folie à Deux is essentially just a mix of Fleck and his actions in the first movie being analysed in court, interspersed with fantasy sequences in which he imagines himself and Lee singing showtunes together and dancing (as can be expected, most of these songs feature lyrics about clowns, laughing or entertaining).
Yet, we'd argue that this is ambitious, uncharted territory for the Joker - putting him on trial for his actions and actually trying to delve into and understand what makes him tick as a character. Is he someone that has completely lost grip on reality? Or is he someone who is acutely aware of the evil acts he carries out and doesn't care? Or is it something uncomfortably in the middle?
Similarly fascinating territory is the idea of Fleck's Joker persona becoming bigger than him. His shocking actions and clown iconography attract devotees and imitators from similar backgrounds, many of whom come to cheer him on during his trial and could be even more dangerous.
In terms of the much-publicised musical numbers - even the idea of which seemed to be divisive amongst fans of the original ahead of the sequel's release - they are hit-and-miss, feeling oddly restrained and stationary.
It's actually the one area of Joker: Folie à Deux where you can almost feel Phillips holding back, as if fearing that going full Bob Fosse would cause en masse walkouts. In fact, embracing the theatricality may have suited the flamboyance of the Clown Prince of Crime.
That said, cinematographer Lawrence Sher does wonders again, making virtually every shot in Joker 2 feel beautiful in its worn-out griminess, through clever framing and delicate lighting.
Oscar-winning composer Hildur Guðnadóttir's mournful score is also incredibly emotional and evocative, adding so much gloomy weight to Phillips and Sher's visuals that this follow-up is able to sustain itself on atmosphere and vibes alone.
And though Folie à Deux's climax will no doubt feel anticlimactic to much of its target audience probably expecting more of the action you'd typically get in a Batman-related film, it is hard not to admire the chutzpah of Phillips and his co-writer Scott Silver.
They have made a superhero flick unlike any other - one set to find adoration only in specific film fans who love the type of curios that come when auteurs with unique visions are paired with pre-existing material that audiences have already cultivated their own strong connections and ideas about (e.g. Ang Lee's Hulk and Star Wars: The Last Jedi).
Expect plenty of debates about Joker 2 in the coming weeks.
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