Written by Scott Silver and directed by Todd Phillips, Joker: Folie à Deux premiered earlier this week.
The original movie earned over a billion dollars. Joaquin Phoenix continued to be brilliant as Arthur Fleck, the character that earned him an Oscar for the Best Actor in 2020.
After the events from the past movie, Arthur Fleck meets Harley Quinn played by Lady Gaga. Majority of the movie centers around the relationship that develops between Arthur and Harley after a brief encounter at a psychiatric Institution.
Arthur is on trial before the court to face the consequences of his actions. If you recall, in the original movie Arthur killed six people. In the sequel, he is charged for murder of five people (excluding his mother).
Even though Joker: Folie à Deux is a sequel to the first movie, there were moments where it felt like I was watching a completely different movie. This sequel took the Joker from being the confident character he evolved into at the end of the first movie to being more like Arthur Fleck at the start of the original movie.
What I liked about the movie?
You cannot deny that the movie was shot beautifully. The lighting, production design and cinematography were amazing. The music was also beautifully done but you were left wondering why it was necessary to include it. It continuously felt like an afterthought.
Both Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga delivered amazing performances. Both characters were believeable. There were some moments in the courtroom where we saw glimpses of the Joker. Those moments were brilliantly executed.
What I did not like?
Two and half hours for a joker movie is usually nothing but the pain and depression watching Arthur face the consequences of his actions from the first movie certainly took a toll on me.
I would have liked to see the Joker character evolve more into the more traditional comic book character. Same comment for Harley Quinn.
Then there was the ending. Without disclosing any spoilers I will say the ending was questionable to say the list.
Would I watch this movie again?
Although I am a huge fan of joker, lover of musicals, and a fan of Lady Gaga, I probably won’t be watching the movie again. It is an extremely well made movie but leave the cinema feeling somewhat depressed. Arguable, this is by design yet you are left wondering why it was necessary to go this route with the character development.
How would I rate this movie?
I would rate this a 3 out of 5.
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