Trepidation was the key feeling going into this screening of Todd Phillips' sequel to his 2019 hit Joker. After a kooky animated opening (made by French animator, Sylvain Chomet), the film begins with Arthur Fleck in Arkham Asylum, waiting for a decision on whether he's fit for trial or not. The events of the first film aren't too far back and a lot of this edition covers the court case - a neat way to bring us up to speed, but also a huge part of this film's issues. You see, I think this whole film is a 'mea culpa' for the first Joker. The court scenes build up to an expected crescendo of action, or at the very least some sort of vindication for Arthur/Joker. But the actual climax is a damp squib, followed by a dramatically undeserved denouement. The whole final third felt like a cop-out. Did Phillips take note of some of the criticism of Joker and plan a filmic apology for all the 'nihilism'? Or had he always planned this kind of absolution? I guess only he knows.
It isn't all bad news, though. The early set-up with Brendan Gleeson's prison guard, Jackie, and Lady Gaga's Lee Quinzel (Harlequin) are tightly edited and well acted. Joaquin Phoenix is great, as always and his wandering mind sequences are reintroduced early on, so there are no sneaky rug-pulls for later. Catherine Keener brings some calm to the show as Arthur's lawyer, Maryanne, and Steve Coogan even gets a run out as sleazy TV journo, Paddy. There's nowt wrong with any of the cast, except that Gotham DA, Harvey Dent is played by a dude who sounds like a young Kevin Spacey, and has a very slappable mug.
Now, my pre-film concerns had a lot to do with the fact that this was being sold as some kind of musical, and how they were going to attempt this had the makings of a multi-car pile-up. In fairness, they just about pulled off that aspect of the movie. Most of the singing and dancing was done within the fantasy bubbles of Arthur's mind and some of the songs were fine - The Carpenters Close to You, Bee Gees To Love Somebody, That's Entertainment from The Bandwagon. Only, it seems that because they scored Gaga, the filmmakers decided to go for broke and pepper the film with musical numbers. By the end, Arthur tells Lee he doesn't want to sing any more. Well, it's a bit fucking late for that, matey.
The bigger problem is that it's a two hour plus film that builds to nothing more than a realisation on Arthur's part that he has done wrong. As his acolytes abandon him, we're left with an oddly empty finale with no real resolution and a wasted character in Lee - are we to believe that she's really so fickle, after all her actions pointed to the contrary? It's a shame Gaga is given such short shrift towards the end, as she's great in this, her charisma shines throughout.
Unlike the first film, there's precious little evidence of society's downtrodden masses (apart from in Arkham Asylum itself). You could buy the fact that the Joker was seen as some sort of punk saviour from all of Gotham City's filthy rich bigwigs and their corruption. Here, he's just a bit of a loser, his celebrity peaking at the end of the first film and steadily sliding ever since. All the time he's copping shit from the guards, being patronised by lawyers, officials and journalists, even taking a backseat to Lee's forceful antics, we're wondering what he's got up his metaphorical sleeve. Well, aside from his sometimes violent, sometimes debonair flights of fancy, the answer is, in the real world....fuck all. Overall, a sadly missed opportunity and, more egregiously, a waste of a great cast.
Joker: Folie à Deux opens Oct 3rd around Australia.
See also:
Phoenix performs one of the best split-second reactions I've ever seen in Paul Thomas Anderson's uneven Inherent Vice (2014). I also just rewatched Martin McDonagh's brilliant The Banshees of Inisherin (2022), which stars Brendan Gleeson.
(Film stills and trailer ©Warner Bros, 2024)
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