28/17
The subtitle of the film “Folie à Deux” means “Folie à Deux” in French
Line of Events
Struggling with his dual identity, failed comedian Arthur Fleck meets the love of his life, Harley Quinn, while incarcerated at Arkham State Hospital. Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson and writer-director Todd Phillips talk about what scared them the most about musical sequels. Plus, Gaga explains how she got into her dark persona and stayed there. This initially led to speculation that Harley Quinn would appear in the film, which was confirmed shortly after. The name Folie à Deux comes from the 19th century French psychiatrists Charles Lasègue and Jules Falret.
It is also called Lasègue-Falret syndrome
The term was coined to refer to two or more people who share the same insanity or delusion. The foreman of the jury talks about “the people of New York” instead of Gotham City. This is because New York State is the plaintiff in the criminal case, and this version of Gotham City is apparently located in New York State (in most versions, Gotham is in New Jersey). Arthur Fleck: [Written like a mean autograph with a sad smiley face] I HOPE YOU GET CANCER. The film opens with the Looney Tunes title sequence, featuring the Warner Bros.
logo surrounded by rings and the Joker’s face
Featured in AniMat’s Crazy Comic: The Wicked Discovery of a Lifetime (2022). Merrily We Roll Along Written by Eddie Cantor, Murray Mencher and Charles Tobias. If Joker 2 was supposed to expand on Arthur Fleck’s tortured psyche, it only succeeded in increasing my boredom. What made the first film so fascinating – the slow descent into madness – has been replaced by a frantic, disjointed attempt to outdo its predecessor with no real sense of direction. Fleck’s evolution (or lack thereof) feels more like a series of random, isolated scenes than a coherent narrative.
The film struggles to find its tone, oscillating between forced social commentary and absurd carnivalesque, leaving no thought-provoking or entertaining moments to cling to
It’s as if the filmmakers thought that more chaos automatically meant more depth, but instead it’s an empty spectacle without the philosophical grit that made the original resonate. The character development was nonsensical, almost as if they hoped we wouldn’t notice the lack of story beneath the neon-lit mayhem and menacing laughter. Joaquin Phoenix, ever the committed actor, did his best, but even his performance couldn’t save the script, which feels more like a checklist of provocations than an actual journey. Joker 2 is a poor imitation of its predecessor, it’s like trying to laugh at the same joke twice, except this time it falls flat and leaves you wondering why we thought it was funny. Judgment?
Forget this fall
Check out our list of exciting new films from this year’s film festivals, including Venice, TIFF, New York Film Festival and more.