The second chapter of the character created by DC Comics is finally available. And this time Arthur Fleck/Joker doesn’t just laugh and dance, but he also sings.
‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ is a 2024 film directed by Todd Phillips. It’s the sequel to the film ‘Joker’ (2019) and sees Joaquin Phoenix play the protagonist, joined in the cast by legendary Lady Gaga (Harley Quinn).
This is Joaquin Phoenix’s first sequel in his entire career. ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ has a budget of $200 million, a very massive increase over the previous ‘Joker’, which remained at $60 million.
The plot tells that Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) meets the love of his life, Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga), while incarcerated at Arkham State Hospital. After his release, the two embark on a sort of tragic romantic misadventure.
The title ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ comes from the French psychiatrists Ernest-Charles Lasègue and Jean-Pierre Falret and it describes the shared delusional psychotic disorder that arose in two people who lived in contact for a long time.
Like the previous film, the sequel is clearly influenced by New Hollywood and a single movie in particular – ‘One from the Earth’ (1982), that is to say Francis Ford Coppola’s unlucky (at the box office) musical with songs by Tom Waits.
During the filming of ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’, Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix sang live, accompanied by a pianist who played off-screen. But don’ t take it for a 100% musical anyway! Todd Phillips specified that the musical sequences take place, mainly, in the mind of Arthur Fleck/Joker. They are not real, but at least dreamlike. And they don’t take up the entire running time of the film itself.
For the joy of music lovers there are about fifteen musical numbers on ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ and specifically glorious tunes (taken from American classical repertoire) like ‘Get Happy’ by Judy Garland, ‘For Once in My Life’ by Stevie Wonder, ‘That’s Entertainment!’ (sung by Jack Buchanan on 1953 ‘The Band Wagon’ movie) and ‘That’s Life’ by Frank Sinatra.
Last but not least, to better fit into Harley Quinn’s part Lady Gaga forgot her challenging singing lessons and… learned to go out of tune! The reason? Well, after all Stefani Germanotta (the real name of the American popstar) is a professional singer acclaimed throughout the world while her character (the fascinating/disturbing Harley) is not.
Now you can go and enjoy ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’. And have fun at the cinema with one of the most talked-about films of 2024!
