Joker: Folie a Deux

Events of Joker: Folie a Deux focus on the next phase of Arthur Fleck’s journey after the events of “Joker” that was released in 2019. Fleck is now awaiting trial while being locked up in Arkham hospital. Following his sense of isolation and under the effect of his medicine, he now appears lifeless physically and psychologically. Until one day he meets Harleen Quinzel who shows great admiration towards him and through his relation with her, Fleck finds love, fantasy and music.

Joker: Folie a Deux transcends the definition of an “unnecessary movie” to be an “offensive movie”. Offensive to its genres, offensive to its hero, offensive to the legacy of the first film and offensive to the fan base. In terms of genre, though the film feels so limited in the viewing experience, it’s actually rich in classifications. It’s a comic book movie, it’s a musical, it’s a courtroom drama, it’s a prison drama and it’s a love story. And it’s really difficult to tell in which genre it performs worse. This might be the part that hurts the most and I’m saying that as someone who doesn’t count himself among the fan base of the first film. Couldn’t you at least get one right?

As a comic book movie .. well, it’s not really a comic book movie .. never was. The first movie set itself free from the bounds of the character storylines in the comic books so .. sky is the limit. The second movie feels restricted by its own shackles .. what on earth could’ve forced the screenplay to be so uninspiring?! As a musical, and I’m saying that as someone who doesn’t count himself among the fan base of musicals, it’s not really a musical. Most of the songs are not original. The design of the dancing numbers presented in the fantasies of the two leading characters is so basic. The movie cost 190 million dollars to make and I really didn’t see even half this budget on the screen.

To me, only one dancing number was interesting and only due to the physical performance of Joaquin Phoenix in it. Courtroom drama? .. one interesting testimony .. only because of the performance of the two actors involved in it. Prison drama .. so confusing and lacks any kind of logical progression due to the contradicting angles of the guard character portrayed by Brendand Gleeson. And I’m guessing you already raised an eyebrow when you heard me say “love story” earlier.

The best thing in the movie is of course the performance of Joaquin Phoenix. Which was wasted most of the time displaying what we already know about his abilities and the character in the first part. But every now and then he would showcase a moment of brilliance that might actually be the lifebuoy of the movie. Not to make it a good movie, not even to make it slightly better, but maybe, in a few months .. might make me wanna watch it again. The best character in the film in my opinion is that of Harleen Quinzel. She makes sense, her quest makes sense, her transformations make sense, and yes, among the characters of this film, that makes it an achievement. Gaga’s musical potential is wasted in the confinement of the songs the movie offered. But all in all, I believe this part could’ve been a step forward to Lady Gaga in the world of cinema only if it didn’t exist in this mess.

Wasn’t a fan of any element of the visual experience of the movie, and wasn’t annoyed much either. There’s a surprising and shocking sequence in the third act, that I believe was amazing visually and can be the key thing that cinematography can show for. But I believe it will also be a painful memory because of how poorly the screenplay dealt with its consequences.

I saw Joker: Folie a Deux 5 days ago and it’s among the longest times I’ve ever given a movie to marinate in my mind to try and see what I couldn’t see while watching it. See the point, see the purpose, see how it can be a good film even if I didn’t like it. See how it can have a positive score because I just couldn’t believe I can make a review and give the film a negative score no matter how many problems it had. I liked one dramatic scene with one dialogue. I liked one long sequence with great cinematography and amazing perspective. I liked one song because a good actor danced and acted so well in it .. And that’s it. I rate “Joker: Folie a Deux” at 3.5/10 .. like Arthur Fleck in this film, I fantasize about a world where this movie was never made.

The Lead Ensemble Starring in The Sisters Brothers

Our story takes place in the American west in the year 1851. Charlie and Eli Sisters work as hitmen for a wealthy businessman called “The Commodore”. The Commodore tasks the brothers with following a scout working under his command called John Morris. Morris is supposed to track, find and keep an eye on Hermann Warm; a chemist who stole something from the commodore. Once they catch up to them, they are supposed to kill Warm and return to the commodore his property. The trip is long and all men in pursuit of Hermann Warm witness what affects their priorities and convictions.

In “The Sisters Brothers” we have 2 pairs of men separated by a few days of primitive traveling. Yet those days set all the difference in the way those men think. They set the difference between clinging to the past and aspiring for the future. It’s mesmerizing and, at times, extremely poetic. Poetic in events and in dialogue and still with great respect to the differences between the two groups of men. The sisters brothers are simple people, they kill for a living. Charlie is a drunk and a hot head, while Eli is more composed and in dire need for settling down. It’s easy to notice that Eli belongs in the civilized future though he hasn’t really seen one. You don’t expect the conversations between the two to be deep and sophisticated, and they are not. However, I couldn’t ignore just how beautiful they are, even when they are confrontational and even when they end in an ugly manner. While on the other hand Warm is a chemist and Morris is a writer of some sort. Their conversations are deep and expressive, yet filled with charm and true human emotions.

The film is definitely not all talking, it has more than a fair share of action and violence. Yet it’s also presented very artistically. Jacques Audiard, the director and co-writer, didn’t treat those sequences as breaks from a classy cinematic adventure. He rather used them to be effective dramatic vehicles. In every scene with an armed confrontation he always focuses on the perspective. Sometimes that of Eli, sometimes that of Charlie, the best of all was that of Morris and sometimes our own. It’s rarely clear or definite, but always fun to follow & very nutritious to the build up of the characters and where they stand from each other. In addition of course to how well they’re shot, lit and edited.

The film stars Joaquin Phoenix and John C Reilly with strong supporting roles from Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed. They are all in their finest form and without any special framing for their performance. They get the suitable screen time for their characters in the events and they make the best out of them. Very difficult to single out a scene and say that this particular actor was great in it, simply because they always acted in twos. Sometimes in threes and sometimes in fours. I can’t even say which pair was better. Whenever I spent time with Charlie and Eli, I always missed John and Herman. It’s a lead ensemble as it should be and I enjoyed the few moments we spent with Jake Gyllenhaal and Joaquin Phoenix together. I think this will be regarded as history in 10 years or so.

The Sisters Brothers is one of the hidden gems of 2018. It holds a great artistic value and it’s still a lot of fun to watch. It doesn’t have any obvious problems other than maybe being a bit longer than necessary. Don’t get me wrong, I would’ve loved this story to go on forever. It’s just that it felt like it ended several times before it actually did.