Joker: Folie a Deux is not a regular DC fan movie. Todd Philips didn’t want to destroy what Christopher Nolan successfully portrayed on screen in The Dark Knight. The character of Joker played by Heath Ledger was iconic and despite Heath Ledger’s sad and early demise, the fans continue to love what he did to the character. Todd Philips’ take on Joker is set as a prequel to Christopher Nolan’s character. Joker: Folie a Deux then becomes a no brainer but to set things right for The Dark Knight.
If you notice the last scene where a prison inmate grabs Arthur’s attention and then stabs him, you’ll notice what he does in the background. He immediately carves out a smiley face with his knife. This is something that Heath Ledger’s character has been wanting to tell us in The Dark Knight. “Do you know how I got this scar?” It’s only DC that can tell us whether that prison inmate is indeed a future Joker if at all they plan to create a new trilogy honoring what Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix have successfully portrayed.
If you compare it with Bruno Heller’s Gotham as that was designed as a prequel to Batman too, you would understand the need to bring in other Jokers. One interpretation would be that Jerome Valeska, played by Cameron Monaghan in the TV series Gotham, would be a prequel to Arthur Fleck’s character played by Joaquin Phoenix. Though Heath Ledger played the character to his perfection, I find Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal to be more real. And as to his life being a bigger joke, his ability to cope up with his comedy and fantasy is likely more realistic. There are indeed a lot of stand-up comics today who are essentially spinning not so funny jokes but lenting their inner frustration and anger. Arthur’s take on this subject does feel very authentic.
As most critics have already pointed out that the second installment is just too much musical to be interesting, I feel that the characterisation is still done better than most adaptations. His fantasy world where he imagines himself as successful but betrayed by people is emotional. His lady love who happens to pursue her life without him in the end too feels real at the core. Lee Quinzel played by Lady Gaga is not very Harley Quinn but enough to what the Batman franchise has given us so far. I had to fast-forward some songs just to get to the important parts but I didn’t find it very annoying as at least these were more quintessential compared to the Bollywood ones that I had grown up with.
The duration of the movie is indeed long and it seems that it is only due to the addition of the songs which quite frankly could have been reduced at least in terms of numbers. They are just too many as pointed out by several critics before. But, if you have the luxury to skip them especially when you’re watching at the comfort of your home, the movie makes more sense. It’s a treat to the psychological drama lovers who don’t hesitate to explore even the fickle minded characters.