Director Todd Phillips doubles down on Arthur Fleck’s madness in Joker: Folie à Deux. This sequel, an inevitability after the billion dollar box office success of the audacious 2019 original, is bleaker still.
Joaquin Phoenix is mesmeric as Fleck, with a screen presence that’s wretched and twisted. Lady Gaga, playing pyromaniac Harleen Quinzel, provides gritty support, but has surprisingly little screen time.
As before, Phillips makes bold choices. He turns to Fleischer and Tex Avery for an opening recap, before picking up directly after the first outing. If the first film channelled Scorsese’s King of Comedy, then Joker 2 homages One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and The Shawshank Redemption.
The use of musical numbers is a challenge. You’ll more likely grimace than tap your toes when Phoenix and Gaga burst into song…
Fleck is incarcerated in Gotham City’s Arkham Asylum, awaiting trial on multiple counts of murder. District attorney Harvey Dent is angling for the death penalty, but is Arthur fit enough to stand trial?
The use of musical numbers is a challenge. This isn’t a musical in any traditional sense (no more so than Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water); you’ll more likely grimace than tap your toes when Phoenix and Gaga burst into song. The sequences play to Fleck’s delusions. He’s no Sinatra.
The second half of the movie shifts to the courtroom, and it’s only here that Fleck once again adopts his Joker persona. It’s a fleeting, but riveting appearance.
Tech credits are top notch. The cinematography of Lawrence Sher is remarkable. Sher shot the movie with IMAX theatres in mind, taking full advantage of the aspect ratio this premium screen format allows. Hildur Guðnadóttir’s score is fittingly haunting, and the accompanying sound design completely immersive.
Definitely not a bag of laughs, Joker: Folie à Deux is dark, divisive and disturbing – but you’d be mad to miss it.
Joker: Folie à Deux is directed by Todd Phillips, and stars Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener and Steve Coogan. 15, 138 minutes.
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Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey has unveiled Revive Live, a nationwide campaign to support the UK’s independent music ecosystem, from grassroots venues and emerging artists to vinyl culture and local record shops. In partnership with Music Venue Trust, Metropolis Studios and Record Store Day, the initiative will run into 2026, bringing live music back to smaller…
From the vaults of William Grant & Sons comes Ladyburn Marilyn Monroe by Sam Shaw, a one-of-a-kind single malt created exclusively for The Distillers One of One charity auction. Drawn by hand from a single cask, this remarkable 58-year-old whisky represents the oldest expression ever bottled from Ladyburn, a distillery that operated for less than…
The Luxe Review 
Director Todd Phillips doubles down on Arthur Fleck’s madness in Joker: Folie à Deux. This sequel, an inevitability after the billion dollar box office success of the audacious 2019 original, is bleaker still.
Joaquin Phoenix is mesmeric as Fleck, with a screen presence that’s wretched and twisted. Lady Gaga, playing pyromaniac Harleen Quinzel, provides gritty support, but has surprisingly little screen time.
As before, Phillips makes bold choices. He turns to Fleischer and Tex Avery for an opening recap, before picking up directly after the first outing. If the first film channelled Scorsese’s King of Comedy, then Joker 2 homages One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and The Shawshank Redemption.
Fleck is incarcerated in Gotham City’s Arkham Asylum, awaiting trial on multiple counts of murder. District attorney Harvey Dent is angling for the death penalty, but is Arthur fit enough to stand trial?
The use of musical numbers is a challenge. This isn’t a musical in any traditional sense (no more so than Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water); you’ll more likely grimace than tap your toes when Phoenix and Gaga burst into song. The sequences play to Fleck’s delusions. He’s no Sinatra.
The second half of the movie shifts to the courtroom, and it’s only here that Fleck once again adopts his Joker persona. It’s a fleeting, but riveting appearance.
Tech credits are top notch. The cinematography of Lawrence Sher is remarkable. Sher shot the movie with IMAX theatres in mind, taking full advantage of the aspect ratio this premium screen format allows. Hildur Guðnadóttir’s score is fittingly haunting, and the accompanying sound design completely immersive.
Definitely not a bag of laughs, Joker: Folie à Deux is dark, divisive and disturbing – but you’d be mad to miss it.
Joker: Folie à Deux is directed by Todd Phillips, and stars Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener and Steve Coogan. 15, 138 minutes.
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Sky’s 2026 programme slate is a tantalising mix of recognisable franchises, new originals and returning favourites. Leading the content charge is A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, a new chapter in the Game of Thrones universe set a century before the events of the original series, here swapping dragons strafing armadas for a smaller show…
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Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey has unveiled Revive Live, a nationwide campaign to support the UK’s independent music ecosystem, from grassroots venues and emerging artists to vinyl culture and local record shops. In partnership with Music Venue Trust, Metropolis Studios and Record Store Day, the initiative will run into 2026, bringing live music back to smaller…
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From the vaults of William Grant & Sons comes Ladyburn Marilyn Monroe by Sam Shaw, a one-of-a-kind single malt created exclusively for The Distillers One of One charity auction. Drawn by hand from a single cask, this remarkable 58-year-old whisky represents the oldest expression ever bottled from Ladyburn, a distillery that operated for less than…
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