The new film Joker: Folie à Deux was a huge disappointment

“I” about culture

I was looking forward to seeing it Joker: Folie à Deux. But I was terribly disappointed. This was one of the weakest films ever made in this genre. And although director Todd Phillips claims it’s not a musical, there was more singing than in many films that are defined as such. I spent a lot of time looking at my watch.

It’s a shame. At least the original Batman Tim Burton’s 1989 film essentially created the modern superhero genre. There have been similar films before, but nothing comparable that could also appeal to adults. And Jack Nicholson was a lively Joker. Then Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight became one of the best films of the century in 2008 with a brilliant performance from Heath Ledger. Finally 2019 joker by Todd Phillips presented Joaquin Phoenix as a tortured loser turned supervillain. All were excellent.

The problem is that this movie doesn’t go anywhere. This isn’t always a big problem. Jerry Seinfeld created a years-long situation comedy designed to deal with nothing. But here the audience sits mostly silent for more than two hours. And there are a lot of holes in the plot.

We see Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) at Arkham State Hospital. Several years have passed since the events of the first film and he is still imprisoned. Although it is officially a psychiatric hospital, it is run like a prison, and in one particularly tough case. But Fleck goes along with it. His biggest problem seems to be that the belligerent prosecutor Harvey Dent (Harry Lawtey) wants to bring him to justice. And then, as fellow inmates say: “Fry him.” His lawyer (Catherine Keener) fights for him, but he is particularly uncooperative. Then one day one of the guards, Jackie Sullivan (Brendan Gleeson), takes him to a choir group where he meets loyal fan Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga). In Gotham mythology, she becomes Harley Quinn.

Lee is even crazier than Arthur. She sets a fire that leads to the evacuation of the entire building, and the two madmen perform a complex song and dance instead of coming out. At some point there is a trial version and wait until you can see it for free. A big problem is that not much really happens. Arthur is in the hospital, having some sort of trial, but that’s it. This part of the two-hour-plus film is deadly boring. Arthur is rarely even the Joker. And Lady Gaga seems to have little to do. She is supposed to inspire him, but after the first hour she hardly spends any time with him.

What was most surprising was that the acting wasn’t even that good. Director Phillips gave Phoenix plenty of time for close-ups and subtle facial expressions. But in this case, less would have been more. There was inappropriate laughter and a lot of facial changes that could have meant nothing, but other than a few courtroom scenes as the Joker, he’s a loser again. Lady Gaga isn’t asked to do much acting. Basically, she’s just a crazy fangirl of the Joker. She spends most of her acting time singing, but that limits the emotion. Gleeson is the best actor in the film, although there was some inconsistency with him being a likeable guard. Most of the rest of the cast is just fine.

As for the songs, almost all of them are sung by Phoenix and Gaga. She is a far better singer than actress. She is also able to convey emotions when singing, but since it basically used old songs, she had to put in some effort to fully integrate them. Phoenix has a decent voice, but more than a few times he garbles the words. When he sings “If You Go Away,” a mediocre translation of Jacques Brel’s “Ne Me Quitte Pas,” the words of a powerful song are mumbled in such a way that the meaning disappears.

I wish I could point out some good aspects of the film, but that’s almost impossible. My high hopes were dashed. In the last Joker movie, Phoenix almost broke my heart, and even though he was crazy and dangerous, I was able to root for him. With this movie, I just wanted to see the end credits so I could leave.

Skip it. And honestly, I don’t even know that renting a TV is worth it.