“Folie à deux” is French for “double the madness.” This movie, the sequel to Joker, explores the Joker’s romantic relationship with Harley Quinn. This sequel builds upon Arthur Fleck’s (a.k.a. Joker) arrest following his homicides in the first film.
Joker: Folie à deux centers on Arthur Fleck’s attempts to clear his name while imprisoned, innocent of his past convictions. During his time in prison, he meets his love interest, Harley Quinn. Arthur Fleck is played by Joaquim Phoenix and Harley Quinn is played by Lady Gaga. In a tale of multiple identities, Arthur Fleck is the protagonist and Harley Quinn and Joker are the antagonists of this story – that is, assuming that Arthur Fleck does indeed have a personality-dissociating illness.
The film intertwines themes of love and peace by raising awareness of mental illness, advocating for female equality and empowerment through women taking on traditionally male professions, and promoting human rights, all while offering a glimpse into Arthur Fleck’s story behind his façade. Harley Quinn empowers Fleck to reveal his dark side to the world and fight his case as the Joker, to later lead to his being gang-raped, behind prison bars. In a desperate attempt to salvage his innocence, Fleck flees from a pseudo-Joker and shares his sincere and simple pitch to start a new life with his expecting girlfriend. It’s a story that sees two lovers united in song and dance that ultimately leads to dissonance.
The original Joker was conceived in DC Comics’ Batman series. Joker is Batman’s twisted villain. The first Joker movie did more justice to depicting the original Joker; the second Joker movie was more focussed on humanizing Joker. That pathos won me over, and gave me a lot to ponder.
“Why so serious?” is the original Joker’s famous tagline. Joker: Folie à deux needs to be taken seriously as a work of art, an expression of noteworthy themes, and for the acting prowess of the characters, especially Phoenix as Joker. I would give this movie a 9/10 – watch it with an open but critical mind and enter the musical world of Joker and Harley Quinn.