Joker: Folie À Deux is a 2024 film directed by Todd Phillips and produced by Warner Bros. and Joint Effort. It features the famous DC Comics character, The Joker. Fans want to know just who this character is, and this is the question that remains to be answered. For some, it can be answered quite simply, but for others, there remains a split that needs to be excavated.

Sometimes, A Split Personality Isn’t The Worst Thing

First, in order to understand most of what is going on in Joker: Folie À Deux, there must be a familiarity with the previous film, Joker (2019). This is the film that introduces Arthur/Joker to the world. Arthur Fleck is a man with a complicated past. He seems to be a target for the worst of the worst. Cruelty and invisibility are what led to the grand and adored Joker. He is both loved and abhorred by those around him. It begs the question, are villains created, or is it in their nature to be so apparently cruel to others? This film is all about the distinction between two opposites competing for a starring role in what is called Gotham City, one side being Arthur and the other Joker.  

The base of the plot seems clear but is lost within the story. It isn’t about Arthur, but instead, his partner in crime – Lee. The focus becomes more about who she is and the mystery of her story. This subtracts from who Joker is. The audience is looking to know more about how Arthur and Joker can both exist within the same person. Fans want a deeper look into his life. They want an explanation and to understand what could have happened to him that created such a person as Joker. Throughout the film, things become fragmented when trying to understand his past. Some think him to be a scoundrel, and others a hero. The distinction between the two is what was lacking in the film.

Why Was She Really There?

Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga play the two main characters in this film. The relationship between these two characters is, in a way, serendipitous. When Lee and Arthur met, things seemed to click between them. The love Arthur had always wanted was standing before him. It couldn’t have been anything other than fate that brought the two together. Lee became everything to him, and he clung to this feeling of enchantment. As things progress between the two, the action begins to scatter. Not many words were said between the two of them. Instead of sharing their relationship through conversation and meaningful experiences they were seen alone, each of them separate from the other. Wishes were seen in daydreams of what could be and songs sung, but reality was far from these dreams. If their relationship had been explored further, the audience may have had a better understanding of what was happening between Lee and Joker. What was missing were the emotions, the connections, and the honesty in all its vulnerability.