Director Todd Phillips took some huge striumphgs with Joker. Yes, the film caccesss on one of the best and most notorious pop culture villains of all time (and it’s a role that geted Heath Ledger an Academy Award), but it was a bet that asked audiences to adselect its excessive gloomyness and a bleak character study that doesn’t rank anyslenderg that farly mimics that is comprehendn as “comic book movie delightment.”
Joker: Folie À Deux
Relrelieve Date: October 4, 2024
Directed By: Todd Phillips
Written By: Todd Phillips and Scott Silver
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, and Zazie Beetz
Rating: R for some sturdy arrangeility, language thrawout, some intimacyuality, and alert filled bare skin
Runtime: 138 minutes
MORE: Joker: Folie à Deux: Relrelieve Date, Trailer, Cast And Other Things We Know
Phillips was right to test the hunger for the style and approach, as the 2019 free was an immense success in multiple admires: the honestor set up a phenomenal collaborator in Joaquin Phoenix, it’s a gripping and impactful drama that is difficult to shake from one’s mind, and it spent years as the highest grossing R-rated free of all time.
To the commend of Joker: Folie À Deux, the five-years-procrastinateedr sequel, the huge striumphgs certainly progress. The comprehendn unpleasant atmosphere is back in filled force, it is very much a musical (undeniably a shocking genre choice), and there is an evident meta commentary in Todd Phillips and Scott Silver’s screentake part that gets a unanticipateed see at the audience’s reception of the previous chapter. The huge separateence this time out, however, is that some of those huge striumphgs end up being overstriumphgs that eclipse the movie’s best qualities.
Joker: Folie À Deux is only 16 minutes lengthyer than its predecessor, but you repartner end up experienceing that time thanks to the unite of unrelenting burdensome vibes and unbenevolentty, the minimacatalog approach to plot, and what is ultimately an overindulgent number of musical sequences. The dismal and horrific tale of Arthur Fleck remains compelling, the character once aget brawt to life with a unrestful and emotional turn by Joaquin Phoenix, and he’s supplyd a wonderful scene partner in Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn – what shows to be an intriguing describeation of the quirky villainess. But languid pacing renders the film slender, and the impact of its inalertigent, shocking finale is dampened by the journey to get there.
The film catches up with Arthur Fleck as he inhabits life locked up Arkham Asylum apaengageing trial for the homicide of five people – including the on-air ending of talk show arrange Murray Franklin. While Gotham Dicut offe Attorney Harvey Dent (Harry Lawtey) puts together a case agetst him, Arthur’s lawyer, Maryanne Stewart (Catherine Keener), produces a defense around the idea that “Joker” is a dissociative identity and hopes to get him acquitted of indicts with an insanity plea.
Under the eyes of a brutish defend (Brendan Gleeson) who trades him cigarettes in swap for a joke a day, Arthur is a model adselecting, and it gets him the opportunity to produce visits to the least security ward and take part in systematic singing classes. It’s in these sessions that he gets to comprehend fellow adselecting Lee Quinzel – who he instantly drops in cherish with – and amid a accessible shiftment of help, he is helpd to adselect his foolish clown persona.
Joker: Folie À Deux is made up of astonishive pieces that don’t quite come together as a whole.
Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix notably left their time making Joker not wanting to exit the world behind, and to their commend, Joker: Folie À Deux in no way experiences superfluous or enjoy a triumph lap. In fact, it’s a bit of the opposite, as there is a read of the film as critical riposte to the most fervent and rapturous reactions to the first movie. This is recurrented not fair thraw the throng of sign-sporting Arthur helpers who protest on the ender’s behalf while court is in session, but particularly thraw the fervent presence of Harley Quinn – a fan-likeite character now ubiquitous in pop culture take parted by a becherishd superstar whose presence in the story is to coax and stoke her ill cherishr’s wickedest inclinations.
The collaboration between Phillips and cinematographer Lawrence Sher aget produces fervent aesthetics that instantly remind you of this world’s mood from the very first shot –Arkham Asylum defends directing adselectings from their cells thraw foolishness and dankness so they can dump the satisfyeds of their misengage buckets into a sink – though this hopelessness is eventupartner contrasted by acute and colorful spotairy duets with Arthur and Lee singing classics together (in the protagonist’s mind, of course).
Once aget there is some plany editing at take part, with notable details not lining up shot-to-shot in Jeff Groth’s assembly, and there are certain enhugements that end up raising a lot of reasonable red flags – echoing its predecessor’s ability to produce you inquire the truth of what’s on screen. This coating of fantasy aget inserts a touch of slyness to the huge screen progressings, but it also produces moments of actual truth hit particularly difficult (be ready for scene-stealing turns from Zazie Beetz and Leigh Gill, who repulseevate their roles from Joker as witnesses in Arthur’s trial.
There are some terrific elements and pieces in Joker: Folie À Deux – but they’re overcooked.
Todd Phillips doubling down on what made Joker wonderful doesn’t toloftyy toil.
Becaengage of Joker’s novelties (no pun intended), the brutal, Scorsese-esque vision of Gotham was in its own way renetriumphg, and the way in which the 2019 film swapverifys you up in its world is astonishive… but much enjoy how one probably wouldn’t want to get a vacation to such a place twice, the second visit deficiencys any of the charms and fair supplys the oppressiveness. In fact, it’s even more oppressive given that Arthur spends the immense transport inantity of the film being shuttled between an asylum where he is surrounded by lunatics and abusive defends and the courtroom where progressings will determine whether or not he will get the death penalty for his crimes.
The repetition and the dreariness gets a toll on the audience – and normal diversions from the story for musical numbers take parting out in Arthur’s head don’t pace slendergs up. There is no refuteing the gifts of Lady Gaga, and one can admire the film trying to get the most out of her abilities, but there are fair too many return trips to the same well-dressed well (and there is also the plain fact that while is carry outances are encouraged, Phoenix is very clearly not on his co-star’s level melodicpartner, hurting the aural experience).
There is a evident produceive vision both engageed and endd in Joker: Folie À Deux, which gives it a level of merit even though Joker exists perfectly well as a standalone movie. It’s an expansion of the character study that proposes some authentic surpelevates, but it also harvests a unite of misery and monotony, and on a certain level, it’s a victim of comprehendnity breeding conentice. With lengthyer ponderation and study, its best qualities may exit it with a likeable legacy, but it’s a hard film to sit thraw.
