‘Joker: Folie À Deux’ will leave you smiling with new trailer
2019’s Joker was an utter masterpiece of direction from filmmaker Todd Phillips. It radically shifted the concept of what a ‘comic book movie’ could be, resulting not only in being the first ever R-rated film to total over a billion dollars at the box office but also in going on to secure Academy Awards for Best Original Score for composer Hildur Guðnadóttir and Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix in his role as Arthur Fleck.
Now Phillips and Phoenix are back for the much-anticipated sequel, Joker: Folie À Deux. This time, they’re bringing along multi-talented singer-songwriter and fellow Academy Award winner Lady Gaga for the ride. The result appears to be a highly taught and incredibly creative musical-crime opus that will completely shake up audiences.
Watch the all-new trailer for Joker: Folie À Deux below:
Here’s the official synopsis:
Joker: Folie À Deux finds Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) institutionalised at Arkham Asylum, and awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker. While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love (Lady Gaga), but also finds the music that’s always been inside him.
This new trailer for Joker: Folie À Deux is utterly sensational in its production and follows on from the pulse-pounding teaser trailer, and it sets the stage for something completely unexpected. Having caused a large-scale riot and being implicated in multiple murders, Arthur Fleck, better known as Joker, awaits the ‘trial of the century’, and unexpectedly falls in love with a musical therapist of Arkham Asylum, Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (Lady Gaga), who is carrying her own sense of derangement, and their crazy love is sure to spell disaster for Gotham City.
The new trailer does not provide any sense of narrative direction or specific plot points. Instead, it focuses on mood and tone and captures the anarchy that swells up around Arthur and Lee as their insane love for each other boils over. Phillips himself brings an incredible level of grandeur to the project, and the prevailing narrative has an almost ‘OJ Simpson trial meets Singing in the Rain‘ quality.
What is clear is that Phoenix, the Academy Award winner, has completely folded back into the skin of Arthur Fleck. With his gaunt frame and the gleam of madness behind the eyes, he’s ready to make a complete show out of his trial and ignite a new fire through Gotham. Audiences will also be given a special treat as Phoenix will engage in both song and dance as his already fragile psyche cracks even further, and this new narrative device will lead to a real surprise for audiences.
Sharing in Arthur Fleck’s madness this time around in Joker: Folie À Deux is Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (Lady Gaga), a music therapist who is drawn to Arthur while he is incarcerated at Arkham Asylum and who stokes his madness and anarchy… and the fire that spreads. Gaga truly revels in the glee and insanity that follows Arthur, and her dark intentions are slowly revealed as the trailer progresses. While Phillips has been coy on the characterisation of Gaga’s Lee, and her purpose in the narrative, he has described her as being an almost ‘Charles Manson-esque figure’ to Arthur… and this can certainly only more chaos awaits in Joker: Folie À Deux.
Joker: Folie À Deux appears to be an utter spectacle. With its bold vision, unique handling of a classic villain’s mythology, and sensational song and dance numbers, it will be incredibly memorable to watch when it arrives in cinemas on October 3.
Image: Warner Brothers Pictures
