Todd Philipps signs a sequel in the form of redemption of the Joker and struggles to choose between Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga.
Prod
Five years after the phenomenal success of the first part – in 2019 Joker brought in a billion in revenue for Warner studios, crowned Joaquin Phoenix in the category of great actors and embodied the great pre-Covid popular struggles against inequalities – Todd Philipps returns to the charge with two ideas. Continue to explore in an authoristic manner the iconic DC Comics supervillain, the historical enemy of Batman created in 1940; and make him meet in song his great love Harley Quinn, already popularized on screen by Margot Robbie in the diptych Suicide Squad et Birds of prey (2020), centered on the character of the anti-heroine created much later in the DC mythology (she appears for the first time in the television series Batman in 1992).
The sick psyche of Arthur Fleck
After an animated introduction in the form of a cartoon summarizing the abuses of the Joker produced by Sylvain Chomet (The Triplets of Belleville), the film delves into the sick psyche of Arthur Fleck (real name of the Joker), imprisoned for quintuple murders, including one live on television on the eve of his trial. Fiercely defended by his lawyer (excellent Catherine Keener) who pleads personality disorder and strives to understand the origin of the trauma of Gotham City’s worst criminal, Arthur is still struck by pathological laughter but seems little by little to heal from his psychosis, while being mistreated by prison guards. This was without counting the arrival of Lee Quinzel aka Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga), whose choir group he joins in prison and who quickly appears as his evil genius. Because Lee is in love not with Arthur but with the Joker and his notoriety – the film plays here in a meta way with that of the first part, which Lee says she has seen “twenty times”.
Beautiful street scenes in New York
Caught between the pressure of love and the desire to be “himself” (yes, even the Joker sometimes wants to take off his mask), Arthur struggles to find his place, except when it comes to music. Punctuated by Gospel music (Oh, when the Saints echoes through the prison corridors while at other times the Johnny Cash of Walk the line seems to emerge in Phoenix’s performance), this second part assumes more of its musical comedy dimension than a real social satire bias. Between the sung numbers (but without much narrative significance – except when Arthur croons in his English version “ Don’t leave me » to Lee on the phone), the replay of some beautiful street scenes in New York and the (rapid) denunciation of police violence, the film does not really choose its hero (or heroine) and ends with an impossible redemption.
Drama
Joker: Folie à deux
Directed by Todd Philips. With Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga – 138′.
Directed by Todd Philipps. With Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Catherine Keener, Brendan Gleeson – 139
