Venice 2024: Joker: Folie à Deux
VENICE
After the resounding success of Joker in 2019, which was presented at the Venice Film Festival and went on to win the Golden Lion soon before becoming a global phenomenon, director Todd Phillips returns to the lagoon with the much-awaited – and possibly much-feared – sequel. Caught between elevated expectations and concerns that it would not live up to its predecessor, Joker: Folie à Deux tries to break free from both, albeit with limited success.
Joaquin Phoenix reprises his role as Arthur Fleck who, after the events of the first film, has been institutionalised in the maximum security wing at Arkham State Hospital while awaiting trial for his crimes as The Joker. There, he finds love – reciprocated for the first time – when he meets Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (Lady Gaga), who appears to be the only one to truly understand and see the real him.
The titular folie à deux, also known as shared delusional disorder, is a psychiatric syndrome in which two people in a close relationship develop the same delusion, usually in situations of social or physical isolation and of little interaction with other people. Through this element, the film cleverly plays with the audience’s expectations, constantly shifting the power dynamics in the couple until viewers are left wondering exactly whose delusion is being shared with whom, subverting the relationship of domination and submission typically associated with Joker and Harley Quinn.
The blend of multiple genres, mixing drama, legal thriller and musical (despite multiple declarations from the director and actors to the contrary) and even an animated short, offers an original approach to the topics but, ultimately, ends up falling short. The musical element is particularly interesting, especially considering its centrality in the first film, with multiple songs being included to allow the characters to express their feelings. If Lady Gaga’s musical prowess is no surprise, Joaquin Phoenix delivers a compelling performance in using the varied repertoire of well-known songs to convey Arthur’s feelings and inner conflict – including a great rendition of The Joker by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley and a Frank Sinatra inspired performance of For Once in my Life. Despite the strength of the performances, the musical element feels somewhat overused, shifting from novelty to tiredness almost too quickly and eventually ending up leaving the audience with no more information nor feeling if not a sense of fatigue.
Likewise, the character development feels somewhat lacking. Where the first film had resonated with audiences particularly thanks to its mesmerising portrait of a man slowly unravelling and descending into violence and its nuanced depiction of the failing society that allowed that to happen, Joker: Folie à Deux seems to be more intent on distancing itself from the way the previous film was used to justify real-life violence than to actually carry those reflections through to the end. The court-room scenes clearly exemplify this, as secondary characters from the first film are paraded on the witness stand in front of a jury grappling with the question of whether Arthur and Joker are two distinct persons, and therefore the extent of the former’s responsibilities over the actions of the second. Except that this translates in an almost endless re-hashing of the facts of Joker, with which audiences are certainly well acquainted, and very limited opportunities to delve deeper into Arthur’s psychology and the ways in which his character has processed his own actions and whether he can ever accept responsibility for them. Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn is also severely underdeveloped, this character’s potential teased at her introduction but somehow never fully realised.
A significant recurring theme in the film is also that of media overexposure and the spectacularisation of violence, represented by the live broadcast of Arthur’s trial and the media’s hounding of both him and Lee, the potential this has of breeding idols and the tensions generated by the need to comply to other’s expectations. After all, as the film often reminds the audience, “that’s entertainment”. Once again, though, this is sadly left largely unexplored as a central facet of Arthur’s internal conflict, as is the use of institutional violence within Arkham and its effects on rehabilitation programmes, all themes carrying significant relevance for modern audiences but which are introduced and quickly brushed aside in the film’s attempt at covering too much ground with little focus.
Despite some visually beautiful scenes and several hints of complex themes and character work, Joker: Folie à Deux feels like a largely unnecessary film, overly long and scattered, and running in circles to make the same point over and over again without ever moving beyond the surface.