Folie à Deux challenges viewers to reconsider psychosis through musical mayhem

From brooding, dramatic storytelling to an upbeat, delusional narrative, Joker (2019) held one of the biggest twists for a conclusion. While most (to the tune of a billion dollar box office draw world wide) enjoyed the existential examinations of the original, Joker: Folie à Deux subverts many of those themes to instead offer an in-depth look at Joker's mental capacities and philosophical crises. What truly ruins this movie are the crass judgments from audiences revolving around its emphasis on music, which symbolizes the decay of Arthur Fleck’s mental state and delusions with his “other personality.”  Agendas feel obvious as the very idea of dissociative identity disorder and its reliability in trial in this film speaks volumes on political values in the contemporary world. From this perspective, the sequel could be critiquing political conflicts on a much larger scale than others care to acknowledge, especially beyond the superficial musical attributes. Joker: Folie à Deux, just like the last film, alludes brilliantly to contemporary political strife by microcosmically utilizing Fleck as a symbol for get-out-of-jail free cards in the real world as a critique of such criminals walking free without proper justice in our real world. 

Never trust the critiques. Seeing the film firsthand supersedes any review a keyboard warrior can type. The sequel nearly matches the level of excellence seen in Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004). Of course, the sequel has a lot to compete with from the original, the one billion box office, an 8.4 on IMDB, and countless awards, but it does contend in its own way. Avoiding the obvious musical attributes and values (considered overwhelming) in the movie, Deux uses songs in controlled quantities and never without purpose. Having this film pick up directly where the last film left off was interesting to see, but somehow still felt unfulfilling. Todd Phillips (director of both films) emphasized how he wanted to subvert DC’s qualities with the sequel in order to produce an astounding genre, which he definitely accomplishes with the bookend examinations of the human mind and societal pressures. 

As expected, Joaquin Phoenix reprises his titular Joker role, one of the few returning cast members. Perhaps the most galvanizing casting decision was the addition of Lady Gaga as Phoenix’s Harley Quinn, despite her limited experience with acting. Against all odds, the chemistry of the two working together was a brilliant move from the film’s executives. It wouldn’t be a Lady Gaga movie if it didn’t have at least five different songs, which all align with Phoenix’s Joker mental grappling. Speaking of which, the whole film revolves around digesting and inducing Joker’s mental capabilities and debunking many of the theories surrounding the reliability of storytelling found in the first film. All the connections with past characters and analyzing them after the actions of Fleck’s Joker “persona” are cultivated in this film, especially with the musical elements Lady Gaga brings to the film. 

What sense would it make to have another dark and brutal Joker massacre film? This may have been the question Phillips processed whilst crafting  Joker 2. Of course, the first film broke records for what it was, but Phoenix’s Joker was meant to symbolize deeper methodologies and themes beyond just the Batman villain side of things. Although criticized intensely for its tendency to implement a song for audiences to break from the tensions of the film, this sequel still has the intensities and edge-of-your-seat moments that are just as capricious in nature. As gathered from trailers and points brought up here, the film revolves around Fleck’s trial for the massacre in the preceding film, ultimately condensing the narrative of the sequel given the compact themes of the original. Without revealing much, the identity crisis from mental incapacity obviously would resonate with Fleck, which makes for a gritty and illuminating plot to conclude the series with. Joker: Folie à Deux specifically works to undermine the basis of criminals pleading insanity for the majority of murder or heinous crimes of the sort. Phillips seems intent on bringing a sense of social criticism to the violence of the first movie by critiquing the way mental illness can be leveraged within the justice system to exonerate the violent.

Based on the scores and critiques found on IMDB, many fans of the series were left disappointed with an epilogue type plot. Many of these perspectives stick stubbornly with just the tip of the iceberg, especially with how this theme goes with Phoenix’s Joker and how they strive to achieve a political critique through allusions. Despite a five year gap between films, the expectations to uphold would be challenging for any director to bear, especially with audiences demanding quicker release dates and better quality simultaneously. This five year gap allowed the audiences to forget what the first film revolved around: Fleck’s mental decay and skewed realities leading to unreliable storytelling alluded to in unique forms of music and dance. The sequel compactly reaches all the points of conflict left untied in the preceding movie, and does it beautifully, entertaining in a unique and fascinating way. 

Although the film barely broke even with its sky high production costs, the sequel colorfully signifies on one of the greatest films of all time with vibrant attributes. This sequel suffers at the hands of critics and fans who expect a carbon copy of a film that broke cinematic records. The sequel delves into deeper romantic and mental issues to emphasize the dynamics between Quinn and the Joker “persona,” which all the more glorifies the unhealthy behaviors; the actions of the duo and the persona of Joker reflects real world political strifes just like Phillips intended. While Folie à Deux had its best acting and performances at work, along with excellent political allusions and character development, it couldn’t escape the challenge of living up to the thematic masterpiece and depth of its predecessor. 

Grade: B+

Folie à Deux, although an epilogue in nature, brilliantly concludes the excellent execution of its predecessor through musical attributes and hidden political allusions to strengthen the dynamics and brilliant directing work of Todd Phillips.

by Luis Fonseca

Published November 4th, 2024

Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue II