Joker: Folie à Deux review – Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga shine in downbeat sequel

Fleck, better known to his supporters as the psychopathic clown Joker, is now in Arkham Asylum, awaiting to see if he will stand trial for five murders, including the killing of TV host Murray Franklin on live TV.

Already his fame has spread so much that a television movie has been made of his adventures, although the authorities refuse to let him watch it (a running joke sees him obsess over whether it’s any good or not).

Still skeletal thin, Fleck is almost catatonic at the outset, until a prison guard (Brendan Gleeson) gets him into a music class. There, he meets Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga) – aka Harley Quinn, the Joker’s love interest throughout DC Comics lore.

Committed to the institution by her mother after she set fire to her parents' apartment, she strikes up a bond with Fleck. "We’re gonna build a mountain," she promises. They even get intimate in his cell, just after she daubs his face with blusher (you might call it the weirdest 'make-up sex' you’ll ever see).

With Fleck’s lawyer (Catherine Keener) looking to improve his public image, an exclusive TV interview with a dirt-digging reporter, played by Steve Coogan, is also set up.

As Fleck’s defence pleads that he has a multiple personality disorder, this rather taps into the various musical numbers, which often play out as if they’re in his head, much like the way he imagined his comedy career in the original movie.

Indeed, it makes sense that former stand-up comic Fleck should burst into song, seeing as he has always believed himself as the consummate entertainer. There’s even a interlude called the Joker & Harley Show, with the two looking like Sonny and Cher.

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With the musical numbers running throughout, songs range from That’s Entertainment to (They Long To Be) Close To You, although neither Phoenix nor Gaga belt out the tunes. Rather, in keeping with the film’s atmosphere, performances are muted, both vocally and when it comes to the choreography. Don’t expect to see Joaquin tap-dancing à la Fred Astaire.

By the second half, Joker: Folie à Deux – the title translates from French meaning a mental illness shared by two people – mutates into courtroom drama, as Fleck goes to trial. The clown is suddenly the main attraction in this particular circus.

If you can believe it, the film is even more downbeat than its predecessor, despite the musical element, thanks to the grim atmosphere that Phillips lathers on. It also goes some way to distancing itself from the nihilistic incel-culture that simmered in the background of the earlier movie, despite violent riots once again brewing on the streets of Gotham.

There’s also zero mention of Batman, making this a story far removed from the Caped Crusader's crime-fighting universe as you could possibly get.

Phoenix is seamless, picking up this maudlin character again as if it were only yesterday. It’s a truly versatile, malleable performance.

Meanwhile, Gaga makes for a good sparring partner, her Harley far more low-key than the recent version played by Margot Robbie. While the film arguably lacks the rage-fuelled intensity of Joker, this is still a brooding tale that works hard to reinvent the comic book movie.

Joker: Folie à Deux will premiere in cinemas on Friday 4th October 2024.

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