Bad romance

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This article was published 04/10/2024 (745 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Let’s just get it out of the way and say that Joaquin Phoenix is predictably good in this not-good comic-book sequel. As Arthur Fleck, a desperately isolated, overlooked and unhappy man, he’s technically perfect and physically all-in, his jutting clavicles and lined face leading a hunched, ravaged, naked performance.

But this committed embodiment of Arthur’s existential pain is squandered in service to an oppressively dank, tonally confused and weirdly tedious followup to 2019’s Joker. Struggling to juggle romance, courtroom drama and — oddest of all — big musical numbers, Joker: Folie à Deux is itself a folly, and not in the fun way.

Director Todd Phillips’ original Joker iteration may have been pointlessly nihilistic, but in its controversy-courting, faux-profound, Scorsese-lite way, it at least advanced a consistent point of view — that people were as mad as hell, and they weren’t going to take it anymore.

This Joker entry seems to be attempting a course correction. It could be that in America’s current state of crisis, conspiracy-theorizing, polarization and exhaustion, making a hero out of a deeply damaged avatar who riles a mob into inchoate rage isn’t quite as “entertaining” as it was in 2019.

Whatever the reason, Phillips and co-writer Scott Silver now seem to be critiquing their previous movie, which could be interesting, and maybe even audacious. Except they’re unsure about what to give us as a replacement. There are feints toward some kind of thematic seriousness — an attack on media sensationalism? A plea for police reform? A warning about rabid fan culture? But nothing sticks.

The story is set in Gotham City in the ugly ’80s, with Arthur Fleck incarcerated at Arkham Asylum, awaiting trial for the multiple murders he committed in the first film.

Since one of those killings took place on live network television, the only question is whether he can escape execution with an insanity defence.

As suggested by the Looney Tunes-style animation that opens the film, he may be a split personality: Arthur is the vulnerable victim who deserves our empathy, while Joker is the violent, unpredictable villain who occasionally breaks out.

This is certainly the position taken by Arthur’s earnest public defender (Catherine Keener). Arthur himself seems resigned to whatever punishment comes his way, seeing a state-sanctioned death as the logical conclusion to his oppressed life.

At least, that’s how he feels until he meets fellow inmate Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga).

The two do some fast trauma bonding, and soon Arthur discovers romance, purpose and music. Announced by Phoenix’s slightly shaky karaoke-style version of For Once in My Life, Arthur is now prepared to take on the system, with Lee by his side.

The audience is left to decide whether this is real love or the titular folie à deux, a dangerous shared delusion.

Phillips gives us Gotham City at its grimmest. Exterior shots suggest New York City at peak garbage strike, while interior scenes look as if they were filmed inside a dirty fish tank.

The uniform visual greyness of the film is matched by its dramatic inertness.

Even the frequent musical numbers can’t break the boredom, though most of the numbers are pleasant enough, taken from the age of the Great American Songbook, with classics made famous by Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra, along with a little Jacques Brel, a little Karen Carpenter.

Phoenix, who spent much of the 2019 Joker laughing-crying, now upgrades to laughing-crying-singing, with varying degrees of success.

Lady Gaga is, unfortunately, hemmed in by her grimy Gotham surroundings. When she finally gets to let loose with those incredible pipes, you wish she wasn’t stuck in this depressive, downbeat anti-musical.

In between the tap dancing and the jailhouse beatings, Phillips and Silver attempt to warn of the danger of over-identifying with celebrities, a message aimed not just at Arthur’s rabid followers gathered outside the courthouse but to those sitting in the theatre audience.

Hollywood sequels can usually be counted on to provide fan service, but this is more of a finger-wagging fan lecture. Cue the clown masks: There has already been an internet backlash against the movie, with many viewers complaining the sequel has turned Joker into a joke.

That’s the thing: People who hated the original Joker will probably hate Joker: Folie a Deux. But many movie-goers who loved the 2019 movie will also hate this follow up, just for different reasons.

In that sense, at least, this is a movie that will bring people together.

alison.gillmor@freepress.mb.ca