"Joker: Folie à Deux" is a 2024 American jukebox musical psychological thriller film directed by Todd Phillips from a screenplay he co-wrote with Scott Silver. Based on DC Comics characters, it is a sequel to "Joker" (2019). Joaquin Phoenix reprises his role as the Joker, with Lady Gaga as his love interest. It is produced by Warner Bros. Pictures in association with Joint Effort and was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
"Joker" was conceived as a standalone film, although Warner Bros. intended the film to launch a DC Black film series. Phillips, director of "Joker", expressed interest in making a sequel, which was announced in June 2022.
"Joker: Folie à Deux" premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 4, 2024, and was released in the United States on October 4, 2024.
In the film "Joker: Folie à Deux", the character 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 suffers from dissociative identity disorder and that his Joker personality is responsible for the crimes. At a music therapy session, Arthur meets Harleen "Lee" Quinzel, who claims 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 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. She asks him to stop taking his medication, and they have sex before she goes. During an interview with television personality Paddy Meyers, Arthur sings to Lee through the television screen, deepening her love for him.
On a 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 West 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.
During various days of the trial, exterior scenes of the courthouse is shown with a mass gathering of press, police, protesters, and demonstrators. Shefik appears in these scenes, portraying the role of Pro-Joker Demonstrator. In one of the scenes, Shefik wears clown makeup, to express solidarity with Joker. Shefik appears in exterior scenes in which Phoenix and Lady Gaga also appear.
Credits
- Director: Todd Phillips
- Pro-Joker Demonstrator: Shefik
Last Updated: December 23, 2024
