Folie a deux

Folie a deux

Gaga sent me back here, Gaga is endorsed by Sam. A troll this movie is, "Joker: Folie a deux", it's in the name, thought you were getting something critically acclaimed but you are getting a musical. Same camera guys, same director, same team but you are getting a musical - bring in Lady Gaga! 

Caught me off guard the first time, 23 minutes in, I paused and checked the internet, I thought it was a psychological thriller. Blood on the streets, a barrage of negative reviews, still have 2 hours to go. Let it breath, let it breath, abandon the mission. I saved time, what if they butcher the memory of the first movie? Let it breath, let it breath, if it's good, it will come back again. A couple of months later, I fall in love with Gaga and she sends me back to Folie a deux. Let's try again.

The story continues, Arthur is trialed for the murder of 5 people, one live on TV. Arthur's shadow catches up and engulfs his life, underrated masterpiece. Impossible to beat the former but you have the same team, exist in a different form, innovate, do something unexpected, be contrarian, it will stand the test of time, it will be a cult classic, time is the great teacher. Delusional sociopath Arthur Fleck is, defending yourself as the joker is comical, couldn't help but laugh when he didn't put up a defense against Harvey Dent. He was proving Dent's point, the easiest case you'll ever get for the prosecution. I get it now, it's a musical, it had flashes of that in the first one. In Folie a deux, the shadow is fully manifested, the comedy continues. Arthur is guilty of murdering those 5 people, 6 if you add his mother. Interesting how people love the joker and hate Arthur, oh well, that's entertainment. The projected image is always better, it can be enhanced, manipulated, spun in a narrative and packaged for mass consumption. The joker is a marytr, a form of escapism, a symbol, he provides hope, the chance to day-dream and busk in your primal animal urges. The joker is everything you fail to acknowledge about yourself, he lies doormat, waiting for the opportunity to burn everything to the ground.

When you live like Arthur, you attract psychopaths who are just like you. Arthur meets his demise courtesy of a man who is just like him, he stabs him multiple times and watches him die while laughing uncontrollably in the background. It's chilling, it's Arthur's shadow in the flesh, inhabiting another body. The hellish city of Gotham wins again.

Another Todd Phillips classic, might not get the plaudits because it was unexpected. I understand why it had to be a musical, musicals move time. The sets are fixed to a limited few, dialogue attempts to explain, it doesn't show and the story is straightforward. Musicals give you another dimension, they have depth, they compress time and they move timelines. Musicals also have a kind of delusion and day-dream about them, a play on Folie a deux. The world wanted a sequel, it got one. Maybe not like the former in appraisals but it is misunderstood and an underrated masterpiece. I am happy Gaga brought me back here.

https://youtu.be/Hg1V8UD5g5w?si=fjy4dBSHlpRD8lBY