FILM REVIEW · FIRAS SAMEER

Joker: Folie à Deux — A Personal Review

I had the opportunity to watch Joker: Folie à Deux. I had heard negative opinions about the movie on social media, even though I had not watched the trailer or checked its rating beforehand.

In my personal opinion, the second part is a masterpiece. Although I am not a fan of musical films, I found that the songs used throughout the movie were not included randomly or simply because the production wanted the film to be a musical. They serve a dramatic purpose: portraying the Joker’s imaginative world and extreme hallucinations, shaped by psychological pressure, hardship, and physical and emotional pain that has followed him since childhood.

The use of songs and musical performances — without, in my view, being overused — adds another dimension to the director’s vision. Because Todd Phillips was also one of the writers, the theatrical elements become part of the film’s cinematic language rather than an ornament placed on top of it. In some moments, they even carry elements of dark comedy.

The film is deep in every sense of the word, and I recommend it to viewers who enjoy drama and dark comedy.

Official Trailer

Performance and Direction

There is tremendous depth in the portrayal of the Joker, along with remarkable touches from Joaquin Phoenix that, to me, are worthy of major awards. Todd Phillips also deserves credit for orchestrating the theatrical dimension of the film while keeping the character rooted in the psychological world established in the first installment.

I cannot easily imagine watching this version of the Joker with anyone other than Joaquin Phoenix in the role. He brings emotional detail that can move between tragedy and dark comedy within the same performance.

I would genuinely enjoy watching a documentary about how Phoenix prepared for the role, how he researched the character, and how he built such a layered physical and psychological performance.

I enjoyed the film much more than I expected after seeing so much criticism of it on social media.

Spoiler warning: the following section discusses major events from the final part of the film.

Spoilers

There is strong directorial intelligence in the way some of the Joker’s musical fantasies connect to the female lead, played by Lady Gaga as Lee, the film’s interpretation of Harley Quinn. Arthur feels that she is very much like him, but the relationship changes when he begins to reject the Joker persona and tries to insist that he is one person rather than two separate identities.

In one musical fantasy, she shoots him in the stomach. Later, when Arthur is stabbed in prison, the film reconnects the physical wound with that fantasy, carrying him back into the same emotional world. For me, this creates a bridge between fantasy, pain and his loss of the woman he loved.

At the end, Arthur is stabbed while walking to meet someone who has requested to see him. The film leaves us with the sense that he may have died, while also leaving questions around the identity of the visitor and what the ending means for the Joker as an idea.

Whether there will ever be another installment is a separate production question, but as a film, this ending works because it leaves a psychological and narrative aftertaste rather than simply closing every door.