Arthur Fleck further retreats into his own psychosis while imprisoned, but now he has a whole community of fans to share it with in Joker: Folie à Deux, a captivating sequel that divided audiences at the Venice Film Festival and opens in cinemas worldwide this weekend. In narrative terms, this one has a lot less to offer than 2018’s Joker—but it matches its predecessor in cinematic quality, and may even exceed it in thematic depth. The film’s visuals get an added boost in IMAX, which open up the canvas from widescreen to 16:9 during some eye-popping musical numbers that peel back the layers of Arthur’s psyche.
Writer-director Todd Phillips aped Taxi Driver in his first Joker film, and while the gritty world of period-era Gotham still recalls the mean streets of Martin Scorsese‘s New York City, this one takes a much different direction. Set largely within the confines of Arkham Asylum, here realized as a Riker’s Island-like prison complex, Joker: Folie à Deux has nowhere to take its lead character, now wasting away in prison while awaiting trial for the murders committed in the first movie.
Joaquin Phoenix underwent a physical transformation to play Arthur Fleck in Joker, but his introduction in Folie à Deux is shocking; led through the claustrophobic corridors of Arkham by guard Jackie Sullivan (Brendan Gleeson), his bony, emaciated appearance recalls Christian Bale in The Machinist. Gone is any life from the character; he won’t even tell a joke.
Lawyer Maryanne Stewart (Catherine Keener) is attempting to build an insanity defense, claiming that Arthur suffers from dissociative personality disorder, and the murderous Joker is a distinct and separate identity from Fleck. District Attorney Harvey Dent (Harry Lawtey), meanwhile, is going for the death penalty.
Arthur himself seems to have little agency in this story; even a sleazy TV journalist (Steve Coogan) fails to provoke much of a reaction. But he finally sees a spark of hope in fellow convict Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga), who he meets in a musical therapy class. The two escape into fantasies that come alive onscreen in jukebox musical song-and-dance sequences that see Gaga and Phoenix riff on classics like That’s Entertainment, Gonna Build a Mountain, and even When the Saints Go Marching In.
This version of Harley Quinn bears little resemblance to the comic book character, usually portrayed as Joker’s psychotic equal; here, she’s a manipulative psychology grad who checks herself into Arkham to get closer to the object of her fascination. She’s the embodiment of the crowds outside the prison and courtroom walls, who have leeched onto the Joker as a manifestation of their own psychotic desires.
The film’s title, Folie à Deux, refers to the medical condition of shared psychosis, when the delusions of one mentally ill person are transmitted to another. It isn’t commentary about the relationship between Arthur and Lee, but rather the relationship between the psychotic Joker personality and his adoring, misguided fans—including members of the audience who revel in seeing their own demons manifest in the character onscreen. If and when Arthur finally breaks free from the Joker’s grasp, it isn’t only Lee who will abandon him.
The key incident in Joker: Folie à Deux occurs not between any of the main characters, but between Gleeson’s Jackie and Richie, a fellow inmate played by Jacob Lofland. Gleeson, brilliant here in a role that has far more depth than it might first seem, plays his stern guard with a haunting benevolence, as a man who isn’t afraid to beat his subjects if they get out of line in order to keep the peace… but also yearns to improve his vocal talents by tagging along with Arthur to his music class.
To this point, Arthur has been scoring points by representing himself in court as the Joker, sweeping his fans into a frenzy as he turns the courtroom into a circus, much to the chagrin of Judge Herman Rothwax (Bill Smitrovich, also excellent). Arthur has only experienced the psychotic thrills of the Joker through his own eyes, but as the scene between Jackie and Richie unfolds, the camera holds on Arthur’s barely-conscious face as he witnesses that psychosis manifest in others.
Unlike the earlier Joker movie, and Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy before it, Joker: Folie à Deux doesn’t allow the audience to interpret the actions of its central character. There’s a sense of subversive pleasure in watching a Travis Bickle enact misguided revenge, but those kinds of thrills aren’t had here; if Joker was a movie about about a man lashing out at a cruel, uncaring world, Folie à Deux is a movie about the uncaring world lashing out at a single man.
That may not appeal to mainstream audiences, and Joker: Folie à Deux is dividing its audiences a lot more than its predecessor. But this film still has a lot to say about mental illness and its manifestations, and it says it in haunting ways. If nothing else, the sheer quality of the filmmaking on display here, which includes evocative cinematography from Lawrence Sher and a haunting original soundtrack courtesy Hildur Guðnadóttir, make this one that needs to be seen in the cinema.
Be sure to stick around through the credits for two of the best songs in the movie: Lady Gaga’s rendition of That’s Life and (especially) Phoenix’s take on Daniel Johnston’s True Love Will Find You in the End.
