Girl Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix in “Joker: Folie a Deux.” Picture from Warner Bros. Photos
For higher or worse, “Joker: Folie a Deux” will crank up the net think-piece cottage trade for days. Not even the intriguing presence of Girl Gaga might salvage the plodding musical psychological thriller from director Todd Phillips. “Joker: Folie a Deux” missed the mark even when the lead stars appeared to have matched their freaks.
Wanting gaunt and haunted, Joaquin Phoenix reprises his position because the titular Joker. Imprisoned in Arkham Asylum after committing a collection of murders, Arthur Fleck has turn into a rallying determine amongst his ardent supporters and a stepping stone for an bold assistant district lawyer (Harry Lawtey as Harvey Dent). Between enduring an abusive jail guard (Brendan Gleeson) and surviving a brash tv interviewer (Steve Coogan), Fleck and his lawyer (Catherine Keener) put together for what is actually the trial of the 12 months in Gotham.
The movie opens with a retro animated quick the place Fleck (the aspiring slapstick comedian earlier than he grew to become the Joker) and his trickster shadow wrestle for the stage highlight earlier than the latter abandons Fleck when the police come onstage to arrest him. Basically, it foreshadows his protection: Fleck is separate from the Joker. The previous is harmless and in dire want of medical consideration, whereas the latter is a vile assassin. However an opportunity encounter with the amoral fangirl from hell, Lee Quinzel (Gaga), reignited feelings that might jeopardize the case his crew constructed.
Like Fleck and the Joker, the movie appears to have break up identities that by no means fairly dovetailed into coherence: a middling, at instances pointless, musical spectacle and a tedious courtroom drama. Fleck met Quinzel in a bunch session the place the therapist defined how music heals the psychological “fractures” of his sufferers. Thus, I assumed the musical performances will illuminate the darkish, perverse thoughts of the Joker. I used to be too optimistic. As a substitute, we have been handled to duets of hits from the Nice American Songbook. Not that there’s something unsuitable with it, however after Gaga and Phoenix carried out “Bewitched (Bothered and Bewildered)”, you begin questioning what the purpose is. In an interview, the director remarked, “A lot of the music within the film is simply dialogue. It’s simply Arthur not having the phrases to say what he needs to say, so he sings them as an alternative.” Positive, I suppose.
One tune within the soundtrack that is sensible is “That’s Leisure.” Featured within the underappreciated musical “The Band Wagon” starring Fred Astaire, the tune grew to become an anthem of the movie and theater industries. For a second, I assumed “Joker: Folie a Deux” was an editorial on the “celebrification” of high-profile criminals and reshaping prison trials into leisure fodders. Whereas there was an try and touch upon the subject, it by no means took off as soon as the trial began. For probably the most half, the musical numbers felt like intermissions to interrupt the monotonous and repetitive construction of the courtroom drama. I discover it unusual, although, that Harvey Dent by no means had a musical efficiency, contemplating his common countenance screams for the highlight.
Lawrence Sher, a frequent collaborator of Todd Phillips, returns because the sequel’s cinematographer. One of many brilliant spots within the movie is his fascinating visible model. I dig the dramatic spotlights he utilized in some scenes with Fleck. Award-winning composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, as soon as once more labored on the music for Phillip’s Joker. Arianne Phillips served as costume designer. The movie assembled a crew of gifted individuals, however its drawback lies within the execution of concepts.
Regardless of the insanity, lifelessness pervades all through “Joker: Folie a Deux” that the flowery musical numbers and the surprising violence can not counter. I attempted to determine why and thought it was a movie that attempted to impress however stopped wanting angering the viewers. I’m nearly certain the ending won’t please some followers—video-sharing platforms will likely be a response hellscape within the foreseeable future. Quinzel pushed Fleck to just accept the Joker, and like her, I hoped the filmmakers embraced the insanity of a musical thriller as an alternative of serving us half-baked concepts and wasted potential.