Film Review - Joker: Folie a Deux

 

The title translates as “madness for two” and appropriately most reviews I’ve seen fall on one of two sides- this is either `utter rubbish` or its a work of `genius`. As ever the truth sits somewhere else though its fair to say this is not the film you might be expecting if you saw the first one.  

 

Spoilers beyond this point

 

Joker review

This is a difficult film to assess because it’s not clear what it is trying to achieve. Is it a study of mental decline and how there are never enough resources to deal with it? Is it an origin story for a well -known comic book character? Is it a serious art film sneaking into the mainstream under a populist masthead? Is it a gratuitously violent movie with little soul? Is it a vehicle for a performance which tilts knowingly for Oscar glory? Well it is all of these things at various points but never really coalesces into a particular direction. As for just being entertainment it is simply not a film anyone could surely enjoy in that way. In case you hadn’t twigged the title is ironic- there’s not a single laugh in it.

Spoilers past this point