Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga against the infantilism of superheroes

First, Arthur Fleck, aka the Joker, danced to the rhythm of That’s life of Frank Sinatra in his dingy apartment, with the green dye still wet in his hair. Then, already groomed in his clown outfit, Arthur descended a steep staircase in Gotham City to the energetic sound of Rock and Roll Part II by Gary Glitter.

This inclination towards dancing ecstasy reappears in Joker: Folie à Deuxthe sequel with which Phillips and Phoenix intend to finish overturning the myth of the DC Comics character. A transgressive spirit which manifests itself, for example, through the codes of cinematographic genres.

So, while joker shone as a solid social drama with Scorsesian accents, its sequel works more liquidly, going from thriller to the ultramodern musicalwhere the elegance and grace of classicism are devoured by a visceral and wild rawness.

As for the plot, Joker: Folie à Deux starts where it ended joker. Arthur Fleck awaits trial for five murders, the last of which was committed “on live television.” His lawyer, played by Catherine Keener, relies on a defense composed of convince the jury that the murderous jester suffers from split personality disorder –a thesis presented in the exciting and very artisanal animated short which opens the film, the work of Sylvain Chomet, author of The illusionist (2010)–.

At this point, everything seems ripe for a classic complaint against the ineffectiveness of the justice and prison systems (in prison, Arthur witnesses an episode referencing the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police). However, the film takes an unexpected turn when, with the help of the character of Harley Quinn (played by Lady Gaga), and the love she awakens in Arthur, the songs cover the film.

In Joker: Folie à DeuxPhoenix dances again – sometimes orthopedically and other times with convincing tap dances – but the great asset of the suite joker lies in his approach to singing. Convinced of the confessional brilliance that he knows how to extract from the vocal cords of Phoenix and Lady Gaga, Phillips engages in a kamikaze exercise of raw musicality, as harsh as it is ferocious.

Taking as a reference the innovative work of British playwright Dennis Potter in the series Pennies from heaven (1978) and The singing detective (1986) – where the characters expressed their feelings by performing popular songs from the 40s and 50s –, Joker: Folie à Deux breathes new life into the American songbook, the one known as Great collection of American songs.

With a voice from beyond the grave and slowed diction, Phoenix gets romantic For once in my life by Stevie Wonder in a hymn to despairwhile Lady Gaga – who explained she had to “unlearn” to sing for the film – empties the song with joy It’s entertainment from the movie Broadway Melodies 1955 (1953) in a scene in which Harley Quinn goes to the Joker’s trial.

When it premiered at the Venice Film Festival, Joker: Folie à Deux It was received with a certain suspicion by a sector of criticism, which saw in the musical turn introduced by Phillips a distancing from the political sphere. It should be noted, however, that the continuation of joker extends the criticism that the original film reserved for the dismantling of social services and the inequalities established in American society.

And not only that, but corrects the ambiguity with which his predecessor described, and perhaps praised, the figure of the Joker as a revolutionary populist leader. In a scene from the sequel, whose iconography refers to the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, the protagonist becomes a victim of the fanaticism of an angry mass which could well be composed of supporters of Donald Trump.

Politics continues to impose itself Joker: Folie à Deuxbut the central discourse of the film, where its greatest transgression is formulated, aims to question the fanciful and evasive nature of superhero fictionwhose tendency towards Manichaeism and infantilism has tied up the Hollywood industry and the major streaming platforms. streaming.

In a key passage of this self-destructive sequel, the antihero played by Phoenix is ​​faced with an essential dilemma: cling to the myth of the Joker’s villainy or dare to live like the loving and vulnerable man that is Arthur Fleck?

The grotesque media circus that surrounds the protagonist – a metaphor for an alienated film industry – makes fun of the Joker, but Arthur, increasingly tired of his status as Gotham’s jester, will be tempted to abandon everything. And that’s how it is Joker: Folie à Deux becomes the Trojan horse that Phillips and Phoenix plant at the heart of contemporary audiovisual to denounce the most alienating side of the superheroic imagination.