Five years later, Joaquin Phoenix is back behind the Joker’s makeup in a sequel called “Folie à Deux”, where he faces Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn. But do you remember how the first film ended? Booster shot!
For a long time we believed that it would never happen. Because despite the 1.079 billion dollars at the worldwide box office and its two Oscars (Best Music and Best Actor), Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix seemed to want to leave their Joker where it was, while many were hoping for a sequel.
Which arrives on October 2 in our theaters. Entitled Folie à deux, it introduces into this branch of the universe another emblematic character from the DC catalog: Harley Quinn, accomplice of the Joker planned to appear in a single episode of the Batman animated series of the 90s, before his notoriety took away from him. offers a more important and lasting place.
After Margot Robbie, it is Lady Gaga who embodies the character, in the flesh, in this sequel with musical accents, which focuses in particular on the trial of Arthur Fleck. And if you didn’t have time to rewatch the first opus before the release of the second, here’s how the 2019 film ended, so you’re ready.
Arthur Wayne ?
In Todd Phillips’ film, the future Clown Prince of Crime is called Arthur Fleck. A failed comedian plagued by mental disorders which notably make him laugh uncontrollably in the least suitable situations, he takes care of his mother (Frances Conroy) suffering from dementia. And is the subject of regular bullying, in a Gotham City on the verge of chaos, where the population is hit by unemployment, crime and the financial crisis.
A real powder keg that only requires a spark to ignite. And it will be Arthur. Who, following an unfortunate combination of circumstances, kills three men who were attacking him in the metro, with a weapon given by one of his colleagues. The victims being employees of Wayne Enterprises, the author of their murder, then disguised as a clown for the needs of a show in a children’s hospital, becomes the symbol of the revolt of the poor against the rich.
It is then that his mother tells him that he is the hidden son of Thomas Wayne (Brett Cullen), therefore the brother of young Bruce (Dante Pereira-Olson). What the billionaire denies outright, before hitting Arthur the day he manages to approach him, while an anti-rich demonstration breaks out on the sidelines of the auditorium where the candidate for mayor of Gotham City is holding . Who happens to be telling the truth.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Not content with discovering that he was indeed adopted and that the abuse his stepfather subjected him to at the time left him with physical and psychological after-effects, Arthur is the subject of mockery on the part of the host Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro) whom he admires and who obtained the recording of one of his one-man shows which turned into a fiasco. And his relationship with his neighbor Sophie (Zazie Beetz) only took place in his head.
Suffice to say that that’s a lot for a single man who, after killing his mother and his neighbor/ex-colleague Randall (Glenn Fleshler), is invited to the set of Murray Franklin’s show, who ended up knowing his name and contact him. He arrives on site in his full Joker gear (and asks to be called that), after having danced on the steps of a staircase for a scene that has become iconic, and intends to end his life live.
Chased by the police, who are increasingly suspicious of his involvement in the murder of the three employees of Wayne Enterprises, on his way to the television studio, the Joker admits to being the author live. And, after a lively exchange with Murray, who had only invited him to make fun of him, he kills him before resuming his gimmick “That’s Life !” facing camera.
“That’s Life !”
Arrested by the police, he owes his salvation to the fire that sets Gotham ablaze following his actions. Freed thanks to the pileup between the ambulance patrol car whose drivers and passengers wear clown masks, he stands above the crowd and draws a smile on his face with his blood, definitively becoming the icon of a people and the symbol of a revolt.
Of which Thomas and Martha Wayne are victims. As they rushed out of the cinema where they were, because of the riots, they are shot dead in a dark alley by an assailant with a clown mask, before Bruce’s eyes. Which allows the film to reread a key element of Batman mythology.
Warner Bros. Pictures
But no Bat Man in the epilogue, which shows us young Bruce, in shock, while Arthur is handcuffed in Arkham Asylum, and interrogated by a psychologist. Who is not the future Harley Quinn, since the last image suggests that he killed her (or violently attacked) by showing him leaving the room, free, leaving behind him bloody footprints.
While the word “Fin” appears on the screen, everything suggests that the Joker is going to flee. But its sequel begins in the asylum, where Arthur awaits his trial. And meets the woman who will become his accomplice and lover Harley Quinn. To find out what happens next, go to the cinema from October 2.
