Joker: Folie à Deux is the sequel to the 2019 film, Joker, directed by Todd Phillips, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scott Silver. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix returning in the lead role, with Lady Gaga also joining him as Harley Quinn. The film was released on October 4, 2024. The film received polarized reviews from critics, who praised the performances of Phoenix and Gaga, but criticized the musical numbers and screenplay. The film was a box-office bomb grossing only $121 million worldwide against its $200 million budget.
Plot[]
In an animated sequence, the Joker is impersonated by his shadow, who takes his place to perform his singing number for a TV show, and then abandons him on stage half-undressed, before three policemen arrive and beat him.
In 1983, Arthur Fleck is in custody at Arkham State Hospital awaiting trial for the crimes he committed two years prior. His lawyer, Maryanne Stewart, plans to argue that Arthur has dissociative identity disorder and that his "Joker" personality is responsible for the crimes. At a music therapy session, Arthur meets another patient, Harleen "Lee" Quinzel. Lee confides to Arthur that she grew up in the same neighborhood he did, had an abusive father who died in a car crash and was imprisoned after burning down her parents' apartment building. Lee also expresses her admiration for the Joker's crimes and personality.
During a film screening, Lee starts a fire. She and Arthur are caught trying to escape, and Arthur is placed in solitary confinement. Lee visits him to say she is being released to avoid his influence but promises to attend his trial, and they have sex in the cell. During an interview with television personality Paddy Meyers, Arthur sings to Lee through the television screen, deepening her love for him.
On the day of the trial, Assistant District Attorney Harvey Dent calls witnesses who dismiss Arthur's claims of insanity. During a break, Maryanne reveals that Lee was actually a psychiatry student who grew up in the Upper East Side, and her father, a doctor, is alive. Furthermore, she voluntarily committed herself at Arkham, checked herself out, and never burned down an apartment building. When Arthur confronts Lee, she confesses that her lies were an effort to get close to Arthur but also tells him that she is pregnant and has moved into his old apartment building to create a home for them.
At the trial the next day, Arthur dismisses Maryanne and represents himself. After bringing Arthur's former co-worker Gary Puddles and neighbor Sophie Dumond to the stand, Dent rests his case. Arthur, visibly affected by Gary’s testimony, offers no defense, although, during his speech, he mentions the Arkham guards negatively. Returning to Arkham, he is taken to the showers room by head guard Jackie Sullivan and two guards, where he is brutally beaten and then brought back to his cell without his pants. Ricky, an inmate and friend of Arthur, verbally confronts the guards, resulting in Sullivan strangling him to death. Overhearing this, Arthur reminisces about the aftermath of his first kills as Joker.
In court the following day, during his closing argument, a devastated Arthur renounces his persona, taking full responsibility for his actions. Enraged at this, Lee storms out, and the jury finds Arthur guilty of first-degree murder. As the foreman reads the verdict, a car bomb explodes outside the courthouse, killing and injuring numerous attendees and scarring half of Dent's face. In the chaos, two followers help Arthur escape.
Arthur wanders through Gotham and encounters Lee outside his old apartment, but she rejects him for renouncing his Joker persona and reveals that the pregnancy was another lie before leaving. The police apprehend Arthur and return him to Arkham. The next day, a young patient approaches Arthur and begins to tell him a joke before repeatedly stabbing Arthur in the stomach, killing him. As Arthur bleeds to death, the patient carves a smile into his own face while laughing.
Cast[]
- Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck/Joker
- Lady Gaga as Lee Quinzel
- Zazie Beetz as Sophie Dumond[1]
- Brendan Gleeson[2]
- Catherine Keener[3]
- Jacob Lofland [4]
Production[]
- On June 7, 2022, director Todd Phillips officially announced the film, and revealed that the title would be Joker: Folie à Deux, and that Joaquin Phoenix would return in the role of Arthur Fleck.[5]
- On June 13, 2022, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Lady Gaga was in early talks to join as Harley Quinn, and that the film would be a musical.[6]
- On August 3, 2022, Deadline reported that the film would be released on October 4, 2024.[7] The following day, Lady Gaga confirmed her involvement in the film.[8]
- On August 8, 2022, Deadline reported that Zazie Beetz was in talks to reprise her role as Sophie Dumond for the sequel.[9]
- On September 1, 2022, Brendan Gleeson is reported by Deadline to have joined the film's cast.[10]
Gallery[]
Promotional materials[]
Videos[]
References[]
- ↑ Zazie Beetz In Talks To Return For ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’
- ↑ ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ Adds Brendan Gleeson To Ensemble
- ↑ ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ Adds Catherine Keener In Secret Role – Deadline
- ↑ Joker 2 Casts Jacob Lofland in Arkham Asylum Role – The Hollywood Reporter
- ↑ Todd Phillips on Instagram
- ↑ 'Joker 2': Lady Gaga in Early Talks to Join Joaquin Phoenix, Todd Phillips Musical Sequel
- ↑ Todd Phillips' 'Joker: Folie a Deux' Gets Fall 2024 Release Date
- ↑ Lady Gaga on Twitter: "Joker: Folie à Deux 10.04.24" / Twitter
- ↑ Zazie Beetz In Talks To Return For 'Joker: Folie à Deux'
- ↑ ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ Adds Brendan Gleeson To Ensemble