Joker: Folie a Deux Movie Review: Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga rock

Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is a man suffering from split personality. His alter ego is that of Joker, a comedian who literally has killer jokes. In the first film, we see him kill six people as Joker. He’s set for a trial and while his lawyer Maryanne Stewart (Catherine Keener), wants to bring the split personality angle into play, arguing that Fleck shouldn’t be punished for Joker’s crimes, he dismisses her as the lawyer and starts to put forward his own defence, much to the delight of the publicity seeking defence attorney, Harvey Dent (Harry Lawtey). In between, Fleck meets a mentally disturbed singer Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (Lady Gaga) in the jail. Her alter ego is that of Harley Quinn and she’s fascinated by Joker, finding him to be her feminine counterpart. Through her, Flick discovers the singer in him. If in the first film he saw himself as a crack comic artiste, here he begins to see himself as something akin to Fred Astaire, a singing-dancing sensation who draws maximum crowds everywhere. The film has a wonderful soundtrack, with the two stars collaborating on covering such classics as Get Happy, For Once in My Life, and What the World Needs Now Is Love and many more. The film is a proper musical spectacle, as the Joker, in his imagination, expresses his emotions as songs from a musical, turning his life into a Broadway act.

Director Todd Phillips has borrowed characters from the DC comics universe but turned them into something raw and human. The film isn’t set in the fictional city of Gotham but in New York. And is riddled with real-life issues. We see corrupt guards exercising their power over hapless prison inmates, ambitious lawyers courting fame and power instead of justice, groupies idolising madmen, and anarchy raising its head as people lose faith in the government. The film also touches upon the issue of identity. Who are we really? What do we appear to the world or something that only we can see in our mind’s eye? Like the first film, it bats for mental health. Both Joker and Harley Quinn need counselling and could have been saved from themselves if the society was kinder to them. Again, the apathy that we see is real and not of the comic world. The difference between them is that while Harley Quinn knows about the mask and wants to embrace it, Joker seems to be tired of the facade and wants to end the fiction.

Joaquin Phoenix, who won the Academy Award for his turn as Joker, is in fine form here as well. The gaunt, lean body he developed for the role pays homage to his integrity as a performer. We see Arthur Flick’s mind unravelling through the actor’s performance. The lines between realities blur, as Arthur tries to come to grips with who he really is, even as he finds musical talent flourishing within him. And unlike the first film, he actually finds true love here, something that comes as a redemption to him. The actor’s face is a canvas for a hundred expressions as his character lives through different possibilities. It’s again a performance of a lifetime for the consummate actor. Lady Gaga matches him scene by scene, even as she unravels the special brand of madness that’s Harley Quinn. We’ve heard of girls falling in love with serial killers and she’s one such girl. She’s in love and she wants the world to know it. She showed us how good she was in A Star Is Born (2018) as here she again stamps her authority as an actor.

Watch the film for the command performances by Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga and for the musical score which will take you back to the Golden era of Hollywood musicals.