Joker 2 movie review: Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga sail through in this atmospheric and impatient thriller that's no match to part one

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga

Director: Todd Philips

Language: English

The city of Gotham was hit like a hurricane back in 2019 in what has been described as the trial of the century. Arthur Fleck, the character gloriously played by Joaquin Phoenix, is a beautiful and barbaric beast. He’s as volatile as he’s vulnerable, and a mix of valor and vileness. He’s evil but also emotionally wrought. He’s struggling to come to terms with his identity, the monstrous face of the man he idolized; his wild imaginations make him do things that are severe and polarizing, and the paint on his face that makes him the Joker is a tool for him to escape his demons. Little does he know he’ll soon transform into a demon, and that laugh is both devilish and terrifying. But it also suggests his bruise and wounds.

The gorgeously staged climax makes it clear the story of this gentleman is far from over. We now move to the Arkham State Hospital. Here, Fleck’s unpredictability meets Lady Gaga’s curiosity. Gaga takes on the role of an inmate named Harleen Quinzel. She’s drawn to the nihilism of Fleck, and there’s some sexual intensity in their chemistry. Gaga’s face is wiped off all the pancake we usually see her in, this is a face that screams emptiness and minimalism. But it’s the heart and the mind that’s filled with a whirlwind of emotions that explode when she’s with this fragile beast. He never harms people who have been nice to him, he shoots his idol dead in public when he lets him down. And given the swiftness with which he changes his behavior, almost like a chameleon, nobody knows what he’s feeling after committing an act (or a sin).

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_Joker 2_ is no match to part one. The one reason could be the protagonist (or antagonist himself). He had the whole world right at his disposal and the open spaces became his ground where he could go bonkers with his unimaginable abilities. Here, the spaces are confined so we only get to see Phoenix and Gaga and their journeys in a world away from the world they once belonged to. There could be an intent behind confining him behind closed doors, a kind of metamorphosis he goes through when he encounters a soul that stirs him when he discovers she’s strikingly similar.

He sings with all his glory that he finally has someone who cares for him. If Joker unfolded like an absorbing thriller about a man child whose frustrations and fury have been unleashed, the sequel plays out like a stage play with writer and director Todd Philips relying on music and metaphors to create a world that feels equally dark. But Joker 2 isn’t an easy watch, it does brim with some absorbing moments but also reeks of restlessness. By now, we have two unhinged characters for the price of one that complete each other’s idiosyncrasies. And to get all of this together, one needs a maverick cameraman who can piece all the puzzles and make it look coherent.

Cinematographer Lawrence Sher stages shots from afar but also zooms right into these people’s faces that are filled with a range of sentiments. It’s impossible for anyone to predict what they are going to pull off next, but we do know they shall do it together. This isn’t exactly love, but the jubilance of feeling complete, and gratified by each other’s company. They are swayed by similar stories and souls. For all those who said opposites attract, Arthur and Harleen, with all their glory, prove the adage wrong. Sometimes in life, we need someone similar, who embraces our flaws and is filled with his/her own. Only then we can smile, the way Joker does.

Rating: 2.5 (out of 5 stars)

Joker 2 is now playing in cinemas