Lady Gaga had to “unlearn to sing” for her role in “Joker: Folie à deux”: the pop megastar joins Joaquin Phoenix for this new opus, at the crossroads of the musical and the world of comics, in theaters Wednesday in France and Friday in the United States.
The first part, a dark and provocative rereading of the genesis of the Joker, Batman’s sworn enemy, subverted the codes of the superhero film and created a surprise by winning the Golden Lion in Venice and offering the Oscar to his interpreter, Joaquin Phoenix.
This new opus, directed again by Todd Philipps, was also invited to compete in Venice, but left empty-handed. Joker 2 is “not a sequel”, nor “a response to the criticism” suffered by the first film, the filmmaker insisted in Venice.
“Joker” was indeed deeply divided, bringing in more than a billion dollars in theatrical revenue but attracting criticism for its violence sometimes considered gratuitous.
Released in the midst of the Trump presidency, the film captured the spirit of the times by drawing inspiration from the rise of populism against a backdrop of gaping social inequalities. The second comes out in the middle of the electoral campaign in the United States. And will certainly be read, too, in this light.
Joaquin Phoenix picks up the title role where he left off. Interned in Arkham Asylum, the Joker is taken out to face justice for the five murders committed in the first part. “Joker: Folie à deux” (02H18) is therefore a trial film, where we see the character of Arthur Fleck dismiss his lawyer to ensure his own defense, disguised as the Joker.
He does not hesitate to ridicule the judicial institution and to play the people against the powerful by addressing his supporters who follow the hearings on TV – an obvious parallel with the behavior of former President Trump before the courts .
Prosecutor Harvey Dent (another character from the Batman universe) is played by British actor Harry Lawtey. All this ultimately leaves little room for Lady Gaga to develop the new character of Harley Quinn, already played in the cinema by Margot Robbie in “Suicide Squad” in particular.
– “Don’t leave me” –
The singer, who broke through on the big screen in “A Star is Born” (2018), a film by Bradley Cooper about the rise of a singing star, after small roles here and there, is nevertheless counting on this long- footage to establish her status as an actress in her own right.
In accordance with the mythology of the Gotham City universe, his character in the black and red checkered harlequin costume forms a relationship with the Joker. The promotion of the film is also an opportunity to praise her new album, “Harlequin”: she has just shot a clip linking the two in the rooms of the Louvre museum, facing the Mona Lisa.
In “Joker: Folie à deux”, Gaga/Harley Quinn presents herself as an asylum resident, the only one capable of understanding the tormented soul of the anti-hero.
The film includes many Broadway-style singing passages. The musical is a very fashionable genre, from “Barbie” to “Emilia Perez” by Jacques Audiard, but “I would not say that it (is one) strictly speaking”, nuanced Lady Gaga .
Joaquin Phoenix, who already sang the song in the Johnny Cash biopic “Walk the line” (2005), does not deserve anything, notably in a very free cover of “Ne me leave pas” Nina Simone version, among other great classics .
Notice to fans, still no Batman in sight in this sequel. And Todd Phillips makes it clear that he intends to stay there and will not develop one of these franchises that the film industry is fond of.
