Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Marvel's Spider-Man Secret Lair promotional image

    Get a Look At the Secret Lair x Marvel’s Spider-Man Superdrop

    09/08/2025
    Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions gameplay still

    Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions Is All About Adventure (with Friends)

    09/08/2025
    Chord in Persona 5 The Phantom X

    Now Is The Perfect Time To Jump Back In ‘Persona 5: The Phantom X’

    09/05/2025
    Cosmic Spider-Man card details

    [EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW] The Spider-Man Set Gets A 5-Color Legendary Spider

    09/02/2025
    Lee Corso from College Football GameDay in EA Sports games

    EA Sports Always Understood Lee Corso’s Legacy

    09/01/2025
  • Indie Games
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Apple TV+
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » REVIEW: ‘Joker Folie a Deux’ Is Hollow Attempt At Depth

REVIEW: ‘Joker Folie a Deux’ Is Hollow Attempt At Depth

Kate SánchezBy Kate Sánchez10/03/20244 Mins ReadUpdated:08/16/2025
Joker Folie A Deux
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Joker Folie À Deux is the direct continuation of Todd Phillips’s first film. It focused on Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) after his murder of five (but we know it is six) people. Now institutionalized at Arkham, Arthur is awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker. Daily bullying and being forced to exchange jokes for cigarettes with guards who hate him, his life has somehow become sadder. In an attempt to get sent to a much more medically sound ward, Arthur has to be ruled clinically insane.

But while he struggles with his dual identity, no one around him seems to believe. Then, he meets true love; this time, she’s not all just in his head. With a spark of hope, Arthur’s love for Harleen Quinzel, who goes by Lee, keeps him moving forward. Their shared insanity is core to his hope, but will Lee (Lady Gaga) stay by his side even as he begins to understand who he is?

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

The cast is packed with heavy hitters like Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson, and Catherine Keener. It also features Zazie Beetz and Leigh Gill returning. But it’s not the star power that marks a standout choice for the film. That honor belongs to Joker Folie À Deux’s opening sequence. After five years, it was smart for Phillips to include an opening animation that effectively serves as a recap. It also makes the film something that is easy to walk into if you haven’t seen the previous one. With an art style that captures elements of past WB animations, the way that Phoenix replicates the animation in his bravado as Joker later in the film is perfection.

Additionally, when it comes to its successes, Phillips has a keen eye for location. The film’s locations and sets have a weight to them, even if it’s all just New York instead of the Gotham we understand. Joker Folie a Deux may ping-pong between understanding that it’s in a comic book setting—with Gotham written on cars or the subtle mention of Arkham—and trying to be a New York courtroom drama. Regardless of its refusal to leave its liminal space between the two, the production design and costuming are some of the best.

Joker Folie A Deux

Joker Folie À Deux’s largest sin is that it does not go far enough. The film gives us musical numbers that start to push boundaries before sinking us back into a courtroom genre that lacks impact. The film continuously feels like it’s building up toward something more but ends with a whimper. Maybe this is Phillips’s attempt to showcase how empty Arthur’s life truly is, but in reality, it’s like watching a balloon pop. It grows into something larger and larger only to be popped out of existence.

By pulling its musical punches, the film doesn’t use Lady Gaga to her full potential. At the same time, her acting is a highlight; it’s hard not to see her pulled back into a shell repeatedly. As Lee, she expands like a bright star and then is pulled back to center, stopping just short of being more than a stunt cast addition to a film that I can’t truly understand that we needed. In addition, Phillips’ version of the iconic Harley Quinn feels too empty to mean anything. While Lee isn’t debilitated by some of the more sexist interpretations of her character, the agency she shows is equally alienating.

Like Gaga, Phoenix’s performance as Arthur Fleck and his adept ability to transform his body and speech to that of Joker is the film’s highlight. His physical acting sometimes outshines his dialogue, and it’s there that the musical numbers can become something truly special. But the number of musical moments that capture the gravitas that Arthur has a Joker are few and far between, never fully taking advantage of Phoenix’s range. Even he, as the film’s protagonist, feels cut too small and short to deliver anything beyond a peep.

This isn’t a critique of the film’s ending, one that may make you question why this film series, but is ultimately delivered with a somber yelp befitting Arhtur’s character. Instead, it’s about everything leading up to it. Joker Folie a Deux limps over its finish line and doesn’t push its audience to understand anything deeper than the surface for any of its characters.

Joker Folie À Deux is beautiful to look at, even with the grime, but it never trusts its actors’ singing chops nor acting depth to truly make something great. Its great actors are held hostage by a narrow narrative, and performers are never given the turns they deserve.

Joker Folie À Deux is in theaters everywhere.

Joker Folie À Deux
  • 5/10
    Rating - 5/10
5/10

TL;DR

Joker Folie À Deux is beautiful to look at, even with the grime, but it never trusts its actors’ singing chops nor acting depth to truly make something great.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleCharlie Vickers Wants You To See Sauron As More Than The Giant Eye
Next Article REVIEW: ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Season 2 Is Only Halfway There
Kate Sánchez
  • Website
  • X (Twitter)
  • Instagram

Kate Sánchez is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of But Why Tho? A Geek Community. There, she coordinates film, television, anime, and manga coverage. Kate is also a freelance journalist writing features on video games, anime, and film. Her focus as a critic is championing animation and international films and television series for inclusion in awards cycles. Find her on Bluesky @ohmymithrandir.bsky.social

Related Posts

The Long Walk (2025) film review promotional image
9.5

REVIEW: ‘The Long Walk’ Is The Most Heartfelt And Heartbreaking Stephen King Adaptation

09/11/2025
Natasha O’Keeffe in Whitetail
6.5

TIFF 2025: ‘Whitetail’ Is An Intimate View Of A Woman Stuck In Time

09/10/2025
Love Brooklyn
6.0

REVIEW: ‘Love, Brooklyn’ Rests on Pretty

09/10/2025
Park Jeong-min in The Ugly
7.0

TIFF 2025: ‘The Ugly’ Is A Harsh Exercise In Self-Reflection

09/09/2025
No Other Choice
9.0

TIFF 2025: ‘No Other Choice’ Delivers a Bleak Vision of Capitalism

09/09/2025
Molly Lewis in Whistle
8.0

TIFF 2025: ‘Whistle’ Is A Breath Of Fresh Air

09/07/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
The Long Walk (2025) film review promotional image
9.5
Film

REVIEW: ‘The Long Walk’ Is The Most Heartfelt And Heartbreaking Stephen King Adaptation

By Kate Sánchez09/11/2025Updated:09/11/2025

The Long Walk is a brutal watch. Equally heartfelt and heartbreaking, it’s one of the best adaptations of Stephen King’s work.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

EA Sports FC Icons Match promotional image from Nexon News

2025 Icons Match Returns With Football Legends Bridging The Pitch And Video Games

By Kate Sánchez09/03/2025Updated:09/03/2025

NEXON has announced the return of the ‘2025 Icons Match,’ a live event that brings a full roster of legendary players to the pitch.

Gojo Jujutsu Kaisen - But Why Tho (2) Features

Everything To Know About Satoru Gojo

By Kate Sánchez09/07/2023Updated:02/16/2025

Satoru Gojo is the heart of Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 — now, heading into Cour 2, here is everything you need to know about the character.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here