JOKER : FOLIE A DEUX - Tuesday 8th October 2024

I saw the MA15+ Rated 'JOKER : FOLIE A DEUX' earlier this week, and this American musical psychological thriller film is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Todd Phillips and is the sequel to 2019's 'Joker' - also Directed by Todd Phillips which grossed US$1.08B off the back of a production budget of about US$65M. Loosely based on DC Comics characters, 'Joker' received numerous accolades, including two Academy Award wins at the 92nd Academy Awards for Best Actor (Phoenix) and Best Original Score out of eleven nominations including Best Picture, becoming the first DC film to do so. This film Premiered at this years recent Venice International Film Festival where it was in official competition, and was released in the US last week too. Coming in at a US$200M budget cost, it has divided critics, much like 'Joker' before it, has generated mixed or average reviews, and has so far grossed US$121M.

Set sometime in the early '80's and two years after the events of the first film, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), is now a patient at Arkham State Hospital in Gotham City, and is awaiting trial for the five murders he committed back then. His lawyer, Maryanne Stewart (Catherine Keener), has in mind to argue in his defence that Arthur has dissociative identity disorder and that his 'Joker' personality was responsible for the crimes. Meanwhile, head security guard at the hospital Jackie Sullivan (Brendan Gleeson) often shares a joke with Arthur and one day takes him over to the other side of the hospital where less dangerous patients are housed, to join a music therapy session, for his recent good behaviour. While there, his attention is drawn to Harleen 'Lee' Quinzel (Lady Gaga), who is part of the group of singers. The pair strike up a private conversation while Jackie's attention is elsewhere, and Lee tells Arthur that she grew up in the same neighbourhood as he did, had an abusive father who died in a car crash, and was committed by her mother to the hospital after burning down her parents' apartment building. Lee also expresses her admiration for the Joker's crimes and personality, and saying that she watched a TV movie about Arthur/Joker twenty times and that is was great.

One evening during a screening of a film, Lee starts a fire by igniting a box of matches and dropping it into a piano. The flames very quickly take hold and all the patients and staff evacuate outside. Lee and Arthur are caught trying to escape, and Arthur is placed in solitary confinement for two weeks. 

Lee visits him at night to say she is being released because he is such a bad influence on her, but she promises to attend his trial, and they have sex. During an interview with television personality Paddy Meyers (Steve Coogan), Arthur sings to Lee through the television screen, only serving to deepen her love for him. On the day of the trial, Assistant District Attorney Harvey Dent (Harry Lawtey) calls witnesses who dismiss Arthur's claims of insanity. During a break, Maryanne reveals to Arthur that Lee was actually a psychiatry student who grew up in the Upper West Side, and her father, a doctor, is alive, and that she comes from a reasonably well off family. Additionally, she voluntarily committed herself at Arkham, checked herself out, and never burned down an apartment building. 

When Arthur confronts Lee with these new found details, she confesses that everyone lies, and her lies were an effort to get close to Arthur. She also announces to him that she is pregnant and has moved into his old apartment building to create a home for them both for when he is freed.

The next day at the trial, Arthur openly dismisses Maryanne and makes it known that he wishes to represent himself. After bringing Arthur's former clown co-worker Gary Puddles (Leigh Gill) and former neighbour with whom he had an imagined relationship Sophie Dumond (Zazie Beetz) to the stand, Dent rests his case. Arthur, visibly affected by Puddles testimony, offers no defence, although, during his speech, he mentions the Arkham guards in a negative light, by calling them stupid and fat.

Upon returning to Arkham, he is taken to the shower room by head guard Jackie Sullivan and two other guards, where he is brutally beaten before being dragged back to his cell partially naked. Ricky (Jacob Lofland), an inmate and friend of Arthur, verbally confronts the guards, resulting in Jackie strangling him to death. Arthur overhears this from his nearby cell.

During his closing address in court the next day in which Arthur is fully made up as Joker, a devastated Arthur renounces his Joker persona, taking full responsibility for his actions, and stating that he in fact killed six people - his mother was the last one whose face he smothered with a pillow suffocating her. Upon hearing this devastating news Lee storms out of the courtroom, and the jury finds Arthur guilty of first-degree murder. As the foreman reads the verdict, a car bomb explodes immediately outside the courthouse, killing and injuring numerous attendees and scarring half of Dent's face. In the ensuing chaos, two followers also dressed in full Joker garb, help Arthur escape by bundling him into a car.

Arthur jumps from the car and runs through the streets of Gotham eventually encountering Lee outside his old apartment, but she rejects him for renouncing his Joker persona, tells him that she's not pregnant and bids him goodbye as she walks away. The Police arrive, apprehend Arthur and return him to Arkham. The next day, a young patient approaches Arthur and begins to tell him a joke with the punchline being that he repeatedly stabs Arthur in the stomach. As Arthur bleeds out and soon dies from his wounds, the patient takes the knife he just used on Arthur and carves a smile on his face while laughing maniacally.

'Joker : Folie a Deux' was originally intended as a stand alone film and not the sequel we see here. Perhaps had that been the case critic and audience reviews would have been a whole lot more favourable. That said, for me this film also failed to live up to expectations after the mega success of its 2019 predecessor. While the performances of Phoenix and Gaga are on point (although Gaga is a little under utilised here), the plot meanders along without getting very far at all, and the film struggles to decide if it is a musical, a drama, a comedy, a psychological thriller or a super-villain offering. The production values are nonetheless very good, and while the musical interludes are more often that not a continuation of the scene in which they are set, they are at times over bearing and over used. Save yourself the price of your cinema entry and wait for it to arrive on your preferred streaming service. 

'Joker : Folie a Deux' merits two claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a possible five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 3rd October 2024.

The 20th edition of the Zurich Film Festival takes place this week in Zurich, Switzerland from Thursday 3rd October through until Sunday 13th October. The ZFF brings great cinema to Zurich once a year when it's curtains up for some one hundred film gems from around the globe, all of which are presented personally by the film's makers and stars. The majority of films screen as world or European Premieres, all are Swiss Premieres at the very least. With its commitment to young talent, the ZFF also provides a stage for the most promising new filmmakers from around the world and promotes exchange between up-and-coming Directors, established filmmakers, the film industry and the general public. The comparatively young festival has become the second largest film festival in the German-speaking world and it was listed among the Guardian's top ten best European film festivals, so reads the official website.

Divided into two categories, the International Competition forms the core of the festival with the Feature Film Competition and the Documentary Film Competition. In the competition, we present films by new, aspiring filmmakers who compete for the Golden Eye with their first, second or third Directorial works. In each competition category, a separate jury presents the ZFF's main accolade, the Golden Eye for Best Film. The award comes with a CHF 25'000 cash prize (about US$30K). The winning films also receive a lucrative promotional package for their distribution in Switzerland.

In the Feature Film Competition category, the following films are being showcased :-

* 'Brief History of a Family' - from China, France, Denmark and Qatar, this family drama is Directed by Jianjie Lin in his debut feature film.

* 'Don't Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight' - from South Africa, this family drama is Written, Directed and stars Embeth Davidtz in her feature film debut. European Premiere.

* 'About Luis' - from Germany, this drama film is Directed by Lucia Chiarla. World Premiere.

* 'Good One' - from the USA, this drama film is Directed by India Donaldson.

* 'The Kingdom' - from France, this thriller is Directed by Julien Colonna in his feature film Directorial debut. International Premiere.

* 'The Courageous' - from Switzerland, this thriller is Directed by Jasmin Gordon in her feature film making debut. European Premiere.

* 'Linda' - from Argentina and Spain, this drama is Written and Directed by Mariana Wainstein in her first feature film.

* 'Little Jaffna' - from France, this action film is Directed and stars Lawrence Valin in his Directorial debut. 

* 'Mother Mara' - from Serbia, Switzerland, Slovenia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina, this drama film is Directed and stars Mirjana Karanovic. International Premiere.

* 'On Becoming a Guinea Fowl' - from the UK, Ireland and Zambia, and is Directed by Rungano Nyoni. 

* 'Sister Midnight' - from the UK and India, this comedy film is Directed by Karan Kandhari. 

* 'The New Year that never came' - from Romania, this drama film is Directed by Bogdan Muresanu in his feature film making debut.

* 'Under the Volcano' - from Poland, this drama film is Directed by Damian Kocur. European Premiere.

* 'When We Were Sisters' - from Switzerland and Greece, this drama film is Written, Directed and stars Lisa Bruhlmann. World Premiere.

In addition, The Golden Icon Award is an award that honours the lifetime achievement of an Actor or Actress. This award goes to a person who has become the icon of an entire generation and whose performance and cinematic work has become unforgettable. The recipient of this years award goes to the English Actress, Kate Winslet.

The Career Achievement Award is presented to a personality who has distinguished himself or herself in the field of production, directing or interdisciplinarity. The award winners are honoured with a Golden Eye. The Lifetime Achievement Award honours the life and work of personalities from various fields who have particularly enriched and shaped filmmaking and film history. The recipients of this years awards are to the Swiss comedian, Writer, Director and Actor Emil Steinberger; the Canadian composer, conductor and orchestrator Howard Shore; the Canadian American Actress and model Pamela Anderson; the Swedish Actress Alicia Vikander; and the English Actor Jude Law.

For the full low down on all the films being screened at this years ZFF, plus a whole bunch of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : https://zff.com/en

This week, there are five new movies coming to a big screen Odeon near you, kicking off with a highly anticipated sequel to a 2019 film in which this DC Comics character, who struggling with his dual identity, the failed comedian Arthur Fleck meets the love of his life, Harley Quinn, while incarcerated at Arkham State Hospital. Then we turn to a period piece where a powerful London theatre critic lures a struggling Actress into a blackmail scheme that has deadly consequences. This is followed by a British documentary that examines the work of three British farmers who are eager to transform the way they produce food. Next up is another doco that follows a popular anonymous blogger who spends five years writing about the realities of living as a self-described 'very fat person', and now she is about to face the public for the first time; and closing out the week we have a South Korean action crime drama about a veteran detective who teams up with a rookie cop to track down a serial killer who taunts the Police by identifying the next victim.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the five latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'JOKER : FOLIE A DEUX' (Rated MA15+) - this American musical psychological thriller film is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Todd Phillips and is the sequel to 2019's 'Joker' - also Directed by Todd Phillips which grossed US$1.08B off the back of a production budget of about US$65M. Loosely based on DC Comics characters, 'Joker' received numerous accolades, including two Academy Award wins at the 92nd Academy Awards for Best Actor (Phoenix) and Best Original Score out of eleven nominations including Best Picture, becoming the first DC film to do so. This film Premiered at this years recent Venice International Film Festival where it was in official competition, and is released in the US this week too. Coming in at a US$200M budget cost, it has divided critics, much like 'Joker' before it, and has generated mixed or average reviews. 

Two years after the events of the first film, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), now a patient at Arkham State Hospital in Gotham City, falls in love with fellow inmate Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga). As the two experience life as a musical through their linked insanity, Arthur's followers begin a movement to liberate him. Also starring Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Zazie Beetz and Steve Coogan.

'THE CRITIC' (Rated M) - is a British period thriller film Directed by Anand Tucker whose previous film making credits take in the likes of 'Hilary and Jackie' in 1998, 'Shopgirl' in 2005, 'And When Did You Last See Your Father?' in 2007, and 'Leap Year' in 2010. This film is based on the 2015 novel 'Curtain Call' by Anthony Quinn. Here, set in 1934 London, Jimmy Erskine (Ian McKellen), the most feared drama critic in town, and Nina Land (Gemma Arterton), the actress determined to win his favour. When Jimmy finds himself in the crosshairs of his newspaper’s new owner, David Brooke (Mark Strong), Nina becomes entangled in a dangerous web of blackmail, deceit and murder. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival early last month, was released in the UK in mid-September, has so far grossed US$1.6M and has garnered mixed or average reviews. Also starring Leslie Manville, Romola Garai and Ben Barnes.

'SIX INCHES OF SOIL' (Rated CTC) - this UK documentary film is Written and Directed by Colin Ramsay in his feature length debut after helming a number of short films since 2015. The film tells the inspiring story of three British farmers standing up against the industrial food system and transforming the way they produce food - to heal the soil, benefit our health and provide for local communities. Half the food eaten in the UK is produced by about 180,000 farmers, who manage 70% of the land. Current 'industrial' mainstream farming practices significantly contribute to soil degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change. Regenerative farming practices, (within an agroecological system) promote healthier soils, provide healthier, affordable food, restore biodiversity and sequester carbon. Six Inches of Soil is a story of three new farmers on the first year of their regenerative journey to heal the soil and help transform the food system – Anna Jackson, a Lincolnshire 11th generation arable and sheep farmer; Adrienne Gordon, a Cambridgeshire small-scale vegetable farmer; and Ben Thomas, who rears pasture fed beef cattle in Cornwall. This is their story. The film was released in the UK in early January this year.

'YOUR FAT FRIEND' (Rated M) - is a US and UK Co-Produced documentary film Co-Produced and Directed by Jeanie Finlay, and follows author Aubrey Gordon for several years before and including the publication of her first book, 'What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat', including breaking her anonymity as a blogger, the launch of her podcast 'Maintenance Phase', and the impact of her writing, including on her relationships with her parents. The film premiered in early June last year, at the Tribeca Film Festival, and has generated positive reviews.

'I, THE EXECUTIONER' (Rated M) - this South Korean action crime film is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, and is the sequel to his hugely successful 2015 film 'Veteran'. Here then, Veteran detective Seo Do-cheol (Hwang Jung-min) and his team in the Violent Crimes Investigation Unit dedicate their lives to fighting crime, often at the expense of their personal lives. When a professor's death is linked to a series of previous murders, the entire nation is shaken by the emergence of a serial killer. As the detectives race to piece together clues, the killer taunts them by releasing a video online, revealing his next intended victim and plunging the country into further chaos. Amidst the turmoil, the unit enlists the rookie detective, Park Sun-woo (Jung Hae-in), whose strong sense of justice quickly catches Do-cheol's attention. The film saw its World Premiere screening at this years Cannes Film Festival and has so far grossed US$46M.

With five new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-