Joker – "If I was dying on the sidewalk, you'd step right over me"

Do you have to be funny to be a comedian?

Arthur is a failed comedian who gradually becomes a furious psychopath.

Instead of simply creating a backstory for a famous superhero antagonist, Todd Phillips, more accustomed to crude comedies, but seemingly rebelling against the genre he’s been pigeonholed into, directs a film depicting a misunderstood character, scorned due to his vulnerability. Arthur is a man practically isolated, fed by the bitterness of the outcasts, rejected and persecuted by a sick and nihilistic society. Though primarily a psychological study of an individual, it's also a macabre critique of the media, political elites, and the American Dream, which mutates into a violent nightmare. His involuntary laughter, often resembling sobs, becomes emblematic of his torment. The dialogue is filled with nuggets of dark humor like, "My mother is dead. I’m celebrating," and cruel moments, like the dwarf unable to reach the chain lock on a door. Joaquin Phoenix delivers a deeply unsettling, even disturbing performance. In short, it's the ultimate affront to the frivolous Marvel studio, a burst of Hollywood sagacity from a masterful, ethereal, and profoundly subversive work.

Arthur is now confined to a psychiatric hospital where he falls for Lee.

Joker – Folie à deux – "We are all clowns"

I'll break down my review schematically because I have a mix of favorable and unfavorable arguments. Indeed, the film left me with highly mixed feelings.

Negative Aspects

First, it's disappointing that they extended the adventures of this psychopath who had transcended Hollywood conventions, eventually bowing to its demands. I understand the director’s intent to innovate, but I'm not a fan of musicals, especially since Joaquin Phoenix isn't as comfortable as Lady Gaga in singing. He should have stuck to his antics as the Joker, but he did manage to convince me with an English version of "Ne me quitte pas." However, the character development for the unlucky singer is weak. The most absurd part is the extreme freedom granted to Arkham inmates, allowing the couple to engage in intimate relations, even though the facility houses hardened criminals. The major flaw of such productions is that an entire melodious sequence could be summed up in one line. Moreover, Joker – Folie à deux never takes off and lacks the necessary spark of madness for a musical, missing opportunities for wild, surreal flights of fancy. It has lost the anarchistic brilliance of its predecessor.

Positive Aspects

The opening animated short is fantastic and defies audience expectations. I appreciated the sharp critique of journalists, whom the film labels as "sensationalists." I was genuinely captivated by the trial sequence. Additionally, the twist where the heroine deceives Arthur throughout, manipulating him as a case for a lawyer trying to paint him as a psychiatric patient, a presenter provoking him into a meltdown, and an admirer faking her love for him, is well done.
SPOILER ALERT: The finale mocks those expecting a traditional sequel.