Disclaimer: this review contains spoilers for “Joker: Folie à Deux” (2024).
Todd Phillips’ “Joker: Folie à Deux,” the sequel to “Joker” (2019), hit theaters on Oct. 4. A combination of unexpected elements in the film, such as the Joker’s downfall and a musical number, left fans feeling disappointed. “Folie à Deux” has fallen short at the box office as well, bringing in only $64 million during its first 10 days in theaters compared to its $190 million budget. Beyond its financial shortcomings, fans and critics alike express repulsion toward the sequel, with only 38% of critics and 36% of moviegoers liking the film.
However, through an analysis of its characters, plot elements and production decisions, “Folie à Deux” invites audiences to take a much deeper look into the purpose behind the film. The first Joker film’s mixed reactions of praise and deep concern for its violence gives reason for why moviegoers should consider the broader implications of Phillips’ “Folie à Deux.”
HARLEEN “LEE” QUINZEL: THE MISTAKEN HERO
“Folie à Deux” begins with Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) at Arkham State Hospital, awaiting trial for his crimes. While there, he has regular meetings with his lawyer Maryanne Stewart (Catherine Keener), who works to build a defense for Arthur. Additionally, Arthur meets Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (Lady Gaga), who sheerly adores Arthur and dreams of building a life with him.
Rather than simply being an entertaining twisted romance, Lee’s character opens a broader discussion of what it means when someone idolizes an individual who has committed atrocities.
“She [Lee] became the way how [Charles] Manson had girls that idolized him,” said Phillips in an interview with Empire Magazine. “The way that sometimes these [imprisoned murderers] have people that look up to them.”
In the same way, the first “Joker” film caused some fans to see Arthur as an unsung hero standing up for the oppressed and abused. This raises profound concern: why would fans idolize someone who had committed violent atrocities, regardless of their motive or background?
So that may leave audiences with the question: if Arthur was subject to such horrific abuse and neglect, aren’t audiences supposed to sympathize with him? The answer is yes, but only to an extent. While Arthur has definitely been mistreated, misunderstood and disadvantaged beyond comparison for his entire life, that does not warrant audiences to condone his actions throughout the film. While we must be mindful of what happens when mental illness goes untreated, we cannot say that such violent acts are justified and worthy of praise.
Unfortunately, many fans misinterpreted the message of “Joker” (2019) into being a sort of love song for the oppressed and a hate letter for societal oppressors. This controversy spurred Phillips to create “Folie à Deux,” which may erase doubts in the audience as to why Phillips would create a sequel in the first place, since “Joker” was meant to be a standalone film.
WHAT IS FOLIE Á DEUX?
Folie à deux (meaning “madness of two”), or shared psychotic disorder, occurs when two or more people in a tight relationship begin sharing the same delusion. While folie à deux is no longer considered a formal diagnosis in psychology, it has been used to understand unhealthy relationship dynamics.
It’s been proposed that folie à deux develops within codependent relationships, in which mutual apprehensions and anxieties (which can more easily culminate between two people) are shared back and forth, causing the individuals to disconnect from reality, valuing a fantasy world more than their real-life circumstances.
Perhaps the most famous example of folie à deux is the Tromp family incident in 2016 in Victoria, Australia. On Aug. 30, 2016, the Tromp family — consisting of their parents, two sisters, and one brother — abruptly disappeared from their isolated home in Silvan, Victoria. The family left behind mobile phones, passports and bank information in the home.
It took several days to locate all five members of the family, who had become separated and were several hours away from home, many of them in confused mental states. Since no crimes were committed, little investigation could be done on the incident. However, the most common theory is that the five individuals were suffering from folie à deux, and that their isolated circumstances led them to mutually believe in the delusion that unknown persecutors were after their family.
So, why use this as the title for the second “Joker” film? Arthur lives in a fantasy world where the powerful Joker wreaks havoc on his oppressors and is celebrated by Gotham. Lee, in turn, also lives in a fantasy world — having cited her love for the fictional TV movie (alas, a depiction of the crimes Arthur has committed, yet something she has used to reflect her reality on). She and Arthur begin to feed off of each other, glorifying and romanticizing each other, going so far as to fantasize about building a life together after Arthur’s release.
This could also explain why Phillips decided to incorporate a musical element into the film, which has sparked mixed reactions. When watching the film, I noticed that when Arthur or Lee begin singing, they are mentally transported into a fantasy world in which they are adored and receive justice. While in court, Arthur begins dreaming about bursting into song and being in full “joker” attire, violently attacking the judge and prosecuting attorney Harvey Dent (Harry Lawtey). The musical numbers are less meant to impress and entertain audiences but rather represent the disconnect from reality that Lee and Arthur are suffering from.
ARTHUR’S DEFENSE AND PROSECUTION
Arthur’s lawyer, Maryanne Stewart, wants to prove Arthur mentally competent to stand trial so she can prove him innocent by way of dissociative identity disorder (DID).
DID, formerly known as multiple personality disorder, is a psychological condition in which an individual contains two or more distinct personalities. Each personality is incredibly different from the other, including varying communication skills, voice quality, clothing, emotional states and vocabulary. Additionally, when the altered personality is in control (in relation to the individual’s primary, natural personality), the individual is subject to intense memory loss.
Stewart’s defense could prove to be quite effective, as she wants to demonstrate to the court that Arthur’s other personality — the Joker — was the one who committed the murders, rather than Arthur himself. This is why she informs Arthur when building his defense that he must relay that he does not remember the incidents on the day of Murray’s television show. If he can demonstrate that he has no memory of that day, that will contribute to a possible diagnosis of DID.
DID is incredibly rare and is theorized to be caused by early childhood sexual abuse. In the first film, Arthur was subjected to sexual and physical abuse by his adopted mother’s boyfriend. Stewart wants to argue to the court that this is why Arthur is suffering from DID.
During the trial, Maryanne cross-examines Dr. Victor Liu (Ken Leung). Dr. Liu tells the court that after evaluating Arthur’s mental health, they have no reason to believe that he suffers from DID — he proposes that Arthur was fully himself and fully aware when he committed the murders. This is why Stewart asks him if he asked Arthur about his history of childhood sexual abuse (which Dr. Liu replies that he did not). She states that this event in Arthur’s life is key to his proper diagnosis.
However, what happens next is vital to understand what Arthur is suffering from. At this point in the film, the audience is aware that Arthur does in fact remember the crimes he committed in the first film — he has referred to them repeatedly to Lee and throughout “Folie à Deux.” When Stewart brings up his childhood sexual abuse, Arthur suffers from a visceral reaction and subsequent intense feelings of anxiety. This implies that Arthur is most likely suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) rather than DID. While DID often goes hand in hand with PTSD, Arthur clearly does not meet the criteria for DID.
Although DID was a good angle for Stewart’s defense, a deeper understanding of DID actually gives clues to the audience that the “joker” persona is in fact a facade, and Arthur himself is the one who committed the crimes — while using the “joker” as a cover-up and foundation for his newfound fan base.
GARY’S TESTIMONY
The most pivotal moment of the film comes when Arthur’s former colleague, Gary Puddles (Leigh Gill), testifies about witnessing Arthur murder their coworker.
Gary relays to the courtroom that he witnessed Arthur murdering their colleague by violently stabbing him. While Gary feared for his life, Arthur spared him because he had shown him kindness for the duration of their friendship. Arthur, who has now fired Stewart and is representing himself in full “joker” attire and makeup, proceeds to cross-examine him.
Gary tearfully tells Arthur that his actions have destroyed his life. Although Arthur spared him during the attack, Gary now experiences intense, chronic feelings of fear and anxiety that have left him debilitated and unable to function. He sorrowfully asks Arthur how he could possibly do this to him when he had been his only friend.
Arthur immediately suffers a break from character in this moment and tells the judge that he has no further questions. He then turns to his audience and informs them that the “Joker” isn’t real. There is no unsung hero of Gotham, no split personality, and that it is he — Arthur Fleck — who committed the horrible crimes. His fans express repulsiveness and leave the courtroom, including Lee, who storms away.
Arthur realizes that the persona he created has done nothing but bring harm to others. The “Joker” is not a representation of the oppressed; he has damaged and hurt people around him who had shown him kindness and mercy. This is a direct metaphor for the split audience reactions of the first “Joker” film. Fans had to believe in the “Joker” persona in order to separate the atrocities from Arthur and give him praise. By believing in the philosophy of the “Joker,” they could interpret his actions as motivated by justice and redemption rather than plain acts of violence. However, the juxtaposition Gary poses sheds light on how Arthur has no justification for his actions.
This, in turn, destroyed the fantastical delusion — the folie à deux — that Lee and Arthur had together. Lee was never interested in Arthur as a person; it was the Joker that she truly wanted, which is why she abandons him when he renounces the Joker.
ENDING
The film ends with the downfall of Arthur Fleck, who now spends his days in prison, having disappointed both Lee and his fanbase. In the final scene, he is told he has a visitor, and as he walks down the hallway to meet them, he is followed by fellow prisoner Jacob Loflane (Ricky Meline) who tells Arthur that he’s written a joke and wants to tell it to him. He tells him the joke, then proceeds to stab Arthur multiple times, killing him. As Arthur lies dying, Jacob uses the knife to cut upwards from his lips into his cheeks, creating an artificial smile.
So what does this mean? We could see it as a metaphor for the fans’ rejection of the Joker and the film as a whole. The “Joker” persona turned out to be fake, and Arthur’s fictional fanbase feels disappointed that he did not fulfill their fantastical ideas of him. Having perceived him as a failure, Jacob kills him and assumes the role of the Joker himself. This has broader implications on the fans that admired Arthur in the first film, and why they have consequently rejected the second film. Arthur, now a perceived failure and liar, has failed to fulfill the Joker persona that he built.
CONCLUSION
Despite its low audience and critic ratings, it is apparent that “Folie à Deux” accomplished what it set out to do. It sought to correct a misplacement of adoration reaped by the first film by presenting Arthur as delusional and toxic to those around him, regardless of his past. Similarly, it aimed to shed light on the mental health conditions that Arthur was suffering from, using its musical number to demonstrate the fantasy world that both he and Lee were living in.
“Folie à Deux” is an example of meta-fiction, a film that presents commentary on its own audience. “Folie à Deux” is not a tale of justice but rather one of rejection. The creators of the film are demonstrating a repulsion for Arthur’s actions, consequently encouraging their audience to do so as well.
