1 week Ago By Mamta Raut
No one can “put on a happy face” after watching Todd Phillips' Joker sequel despite a brilliantly haunting performance by Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck, a poor lonely man treading a shallow path from victimisation to vengeance. Five years ago, when the Oscar-winning new origin myth for Batman’s most famous supervillian nemesis hit the theatres, the predecessor film created a significant buzz for its controversial narrative and creative choices, which in the latest sequel will leave you disappointed. Gotham City was aflame with violent riots erupting on the streets in the final scene while Arthur was handcuffed in an asylum talking to a social worker but it was too late to reach him.
Bullied, abused, and increasingly enraged Fleck was a tragic nightmare, a mentally sick clown suffering from a neurological condition that breaks him into a screeching laughter at inopportune moments. His only dream was to become a standup comic without realising people didn’t find him funny - a lethal combination for pursuing his passion. Well, nothing much has changed for the dystopian Gotham in the 1980s, a world where the vulnerable of society suffer while super-affluent people live it large.
In such uncertain times, the media is still bent on making heroes of villains like Joker, providing a V for Vendetta-style mask for rioting protesters carrying ‘Kill the Rich’ placards. Arthur’s fantastical dreams of stardom gives Todd Phillips’ reimagining of the comic villain raw power but it doesn’t get translated on the screen. He is still drunk on a destructive cocktail of enraged self-pity and self-gratification, and high on the medication that keeps him sane, but rather than embracing his wild persona with an obliterating disregard for consequences, Joker’s narrative appears to be cautious, breaking the conventional pattern.
But Joaquin Phoenix still shines with his excellent delivery of Arthur with disturbingly protruding spine and ribs, a body for which he lost pounds ahead of filming. Todd Phillips charts the formative years of Batman’s nemesis, rewinding to his time as a failed standup in grubby Gotham City, killing people, inciting riots, and standing at his ‘Trial of the Century.’ Audaciously, it’s a film that invites us to love the monster but fails horribly at it.
Also, while the court decides whether Arthur suffers from a split-personality disorder, disrupting the narrative is Lady Gaga’s introduction as Harleen “Lee” Quinzel aka Harley Quinn. If we were to pick between Margot Robbie and Gaga, the former definitely wins in the twisted portrayal of the role. Not that Gaga is bad, but her character feels underused and her dynamic with Joker remains underdeveloped.
The sequel which is packaged as a musical fails to meaningfully explore its themes with the social commentary lacking depth and impact, when compared to its predecessor. Despite the shortcomings, the music is not without its merits, showcasing incredible range and commitment of Phoenix and Gaga to their characters. The background score almost manages to create an unsettling atmospheric experience until it doesn’t.
Then there’s great production design by Mark Friedberg and some tremendous period cityscape images by cinematographer Lawrence Sher. A post shared by Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) One of the major problems with Joker: Folie à Deux, is its tonal inconsistency with the man that is Batman's most infamous enemy ever since his DC Comics debut in 1940. Where is the Joker who’d pull off elaborate robberies, vandalism, and arson to literally thrust Gotham into chaos.
Phillips’ Joker is jarring and is still physically ravaged by his assailants in the austerity-racked society. The narrative and Phillips’ creative choices detract from capturing Joker’s wild persona and takes a more cautious approach, probably to shield his creation from critics calling his lead toxic, cynical and irresponsible. But the more he tries to play safe, the more the essence of Joker is lost.
Joker: Folie à Deux, whose title literally means delusion or shared insanity between two people, is a disappointing sequel. It should have been a tale that’s almost as twisted as the man at its centre, bulging with daring and explosive ideas, but the only explosion that you see in the film wasn’t even planned by him. It fails to live up to the expectations of its masterpiece first movie.
What we get is the frustration while watching Phoenix's dual nature, both of whom aren’t close to the Batman villain that we know. Joker is a portrait of a society that has chosen barbarism but all the alarms that this sequel raises is misplaced rather than well-founded. The musical is everything 'That isn't Entertainment.
' A post shared by Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) Joker, who is hardly a sympathetic figure, is pitiful and pathetic here. He is a nobody and in the most disappointing conclusion, Folie à Deux lets him remain a nobody. ALSO READ| ‘Joker 2’ director addresses potential of a Harley Quinn film for Lady Gaga.
