Joker: Folie á Deux - Movie Review | Venice FIlm Festival 2024 | How Many Oscar Noms Will it Get?

hey up everyone so continuing the Venice Film Festival coverage today's movie I'm discussing on the channel is The Big Ticket item of this year's Fest it is Todd Phillips highly anticipated sequel Joker Folly adur the last time that Todd Phillips was here in Venice was 2019 where his film Joker ended up winning the top prize that year the Golden Lion and walking Phoenix's portrayal of alpha Fleck The Joker was a runaway success winning countless accolades including his first ever Oscar for best actor and welld deserved I might add Joker was the highest grossing R-rated movie of all time only recently being dethroned by Deadpool and Wolverine yeah there's been a lot of anticipation for this movie because we've got Lady Gaga playing Harley Quinn this is also walking Phoenix's first time ever reprising a role that he's played before this is his first ever sequel so yeah people were very excited for this film myself included I know the previous Joker film is a divisive film I know there's a lot of people that can't stand that film but personally I love it I gave that film a 10 out of 10 when I reviewed it here in Venice 5 years ago a look at little prepandemic Luke I was cute back then wasn't I I was still in my twin carer but yeah I saw Joker Folly ad this morning and like its predecessor I do expect this film to also be divisive but once again I fall on the side of positivity okay cuz I really enjoyed this film I still think Joker 1 is a stronger film but as far as sequels go I do have to admire the change in direction that Todd Phillips and scottt Silvers took with the story for the sequel the first Joker film was a moody character study but Joker fol adur is a mix of courtroom drama jukebox Musical and a love story okay they took some big risks in doing so I don't think all of it pays off but when it's good it's really good but it doesn't quite reach greatness like the first film did the plot takes place not too long after the events of the first film with Arthur now being behind bars in the Arkham mental Asylum where he's waiting to stand trial for the five people that he killed in the previous film and the district attorney Harvey Dent is seeking the death penalty for his crimes and at the syum Arthur meets an enchanting patient called Harley quinzel or Lee for short and she's played in this film by Lady Gaga who is both an arsonist and also something of a deranged fan girl of The Joker she was actually rooting for Joker when he was on the Murray Franklin show and killed him live on TV and she's also watched the TV movie that was based on Arthur's life like 20 times okay she's his number one fan she also loves to sing and be witches bothers and bewilders Arthur with her beautiful siren song they Forge a romantic Bond and she stands by Joker as he faces trial his trial is being broadcast live on TV for the whole world to see and Arthur has become something of a pseudo celebrity I mean he's not really famous he's more Infamous but he's also a Marty and a symbol to the oppressed citizens of Gotham Arthur's lawyer Marian Stuart playing this film by Kath kenina believes that Arthur is mentally ill and deserves proper care in an actual Hospital not some looney bin and the Arthur should walk free by reason of insanity citing a split personality disorder this is is actually a major theme of this film Duality I really do want to talk about the opening scene of this film but it is something of a spoiler and I don't want to ruin it for you guys so I'll just say this uh Me and My Shadow Self okay it sets up the whole idea of Arthur being two people essentially there's Arthur and then there's Joker yeah the lawyer Maran believes that joker was always a split personality that was lying dorment within Arthur but after a severely abusive childhood and an adulthood that was riddled with ration and oppression Arthur snapped and the Joker came out okay he was always broken perhaps he wanted to be a clown or a comedian because he thought he could heal himself with the power of laughter but you know what else is great for healing music the Arkham choir instructor even says we use music to make us whole to balance out the fractures in ourselves it's why so many of us choose to watch musicals when we're sick or sad because they make us feel good they provide an escape a fantasy and in jokeria Arthur envisions his life his romance with Harley and his trial as a musical sort of as a coping device because it's easier for him to live in a fantasy than it is to face the Grim reality as for my thoughts on the musical numbers I think some of them worked better than others the problem that I had with the musical numbers is that they don't all play by the same set of rules like some of them are clearly fantasy and sometimes they're singing and dancing in real life so there's no real consistency between all the musical moments and I think the song did work best when we're indulging in Arthur's fantasies like the courtroom number where he sings Shirley bass's The Joker that was a real highlight full of energy and zaz also the were going to build a mountain number which was like a swinging 70s number with Joker and Harley that was fun too those scenes were more fun and interesting because they really do lean into the absurdity and the escapism that you get from watching a musical but the times where it didn't work as well was when the characters are like singing in the real world like when Joker sings to Harley Quinn down the camera lens of television interview that he's doing with Patty Myers who's playing this film by Steve kougan you can tell Patty feels awkward in this moment and you know what it was a little awkward for the audience as well also the scene where Gaga sings Through the Glass of one of her prison visits I mean it kind of does work because she is giving crazy cuckoo Fango energy but it doesn't work quite as well because we're not escaping to anywhere when you're watching a musical your brain kind of has this filter which separates the fantasy stuff from reality but collectively the songs in this film are sometimes at odds with what's going on in the scene because sometimes it's fantasy and sometimes it's reality again it's not consistent throughout okay there's no through line with all of the songs maybe that's what to Philips was going for like blurring the lines in order to give us Joker's point of view not being able to tell what's real but the audience can tell okay we know there's nothing really ambiguous about each song we know when we're watching a fantasy sequence and we know when it's happening in the real world it was quite inconsistent and because of that some songs did work better than others so it does hurt the film a little bit but when it comes to what I think is good about this film there's plenty to discuss Tod vets brought back a lot of the same department heads from the first film and everybody delivers it must have been a fun challenge for production designer Mark freeberg to up the anti with what he did from the first film in Joker Fodor the set pieces are bigger okay they're more theatrical and you can see some musical influences come through in the set design and the props whether it's the Umbrellas of sherog Singing in the Rain the bandwagon or even Mulan Rouge they're actually more like nods than direct influences I'd say but yeah the musical marriage sequence where you see Gaga running down the aisle that was gorgeous same as the rooftop Skyline dance scene which is a throwback to the first film when Arthur was dancing in the bathroom only this time now he has a dance partner all of these sequences are beautifully lit by cinematographer Lauren Sher and when it's set in the real world it's still got that grimy aesthetic and when it's a fantasy sequence it's more idyllic and clean and Polished again it highlights that theme of Duality you know the line between fantasy and reality Arian Phillips has actually taken over the costume Department from Mark Bridges who did the first film but she has crafted some wonderful designs especially for Harley Quinn I particularly loved the Joker and Harley sunny and share moment and she did something clever with Arthur's prison attire at the beginning of the film because Arthur is so skinny and malnourished his prison pants are so baggy on him so when he puts them on and they're like five sizes too big for him they kind of look like clown pants the clothes are very much wearing him and I just thought that was very clever the sound was also really good in this film I noticed it quite quickly when you hear BR Gleason's prison officer character Jack whistling oh when the saints come match in right the beginning of the movie you really do hear the Acoustics of the very echoey prison corridors and there's one moment later in the film I won't say what happens but when it does happen I nearly left out of my seat so I thought the sound in this was excellent I still do like Todd phillips' Direction in this film but I will say his Direction in the first film was Stronger he's clearly not had that much experience directing musical numbers before which is why some of them are better than others but I can't help but think if a director who was more musical prone had directed some of these numbers maybe some of the scenes where they're singing in reality wouldn't have felt so clunky are out of place maybe they could have found a smoother way to implement them he does throw in some visual imagery where he can to reiterate the idea of the duality of Arthur and Joker like the scene where he's shaving and he cuts his cheek and the blood drips a bit like a joker smile same way the lipstick on the glass there during the scene between him and Harley Quinn it's all reiterating the idea to the audience that Arthur and Joker are two halves of the same coin when it comes to the performances in this film they were brilliant I'm once again in awe of walking Phoenix's dedication to his craft you know physically the fact that he went back to that like skeletal physique to play Arthur once again is mading but mad props to him again he is so captivating in this role and it's understandable why he would want to go back to the role that won him his first Oscar okay there was a lot for him to work with here the sequel actually offered him new challenges with the part okay cuz he's singing in this okay he's got a romantic relationship with Harley Quinn he also gets to be funny especially in the courtroom scenes and I can't say too much about it without giving it away it's a character where he really does get to play and try things and be unhinged and scary all at once Lady Gaga is also excellent as Harley Quinn like it is a role that is very much playing to her strengths because she is playing a cooky theatrical Weirdo And of course she also gets to sing and I will say this there were times where she was singing where I was kind of getting Gaga Vibes but to be fair she is a world-renowned performer okay and she absolutely crushes it with these songs okay so it's only natural that when she starts belting the m we would hear the pop star come out but my favorite scenes of hers were actually the one-on-one scenes that she had with Joker okay the quieter moments where she gives us Snippets of her backstory those were the moments that I was most impressed by Gaga because I know she can sing already the two of them did have really good chemistry as well okay you totally buy that these two damaged and discarded individuals would find a kinship within each other they did a very good job of selling that connection and I just want to give a quick shout out to Brennan gleon who played the prison guard Jackie uh he does a lot with a very small part I thought he was great all right shall we talk about its Oscars chances do I think joa folad dur is going to be a player at next year's Oscars yes I do but not as big of of a player as the first Joker film was like that film got 10 nominations okay I'm not expecting fod do to get 10 but I do think this film will have a shot in some categories best actor is looking like a competitive year this year and with walking Phoenix having already won an Oscar for playing this role there could be a collective mentality amongst voters where they're like oh we've already given Walkin one for playing this role do we really need to give him another slot for playing the exact same part when we could acknowledge someone new I will say I do think this performance is worthy of getting an Oscar nomination he's not doing the exact same thing that he did in the first film okay there are new challenges presented to him with this being a musical and all and he absolutely Rose to the occasion with those challenges there are plenty of Oscar clip moments for walking Phoenix in this film but the problem with a performance in a sequel is that there's no surprise okay like the first time we saw W do this it came as a really big surprise okay there was a lot of expectation for him to like do something different than he fleder and he did crushed it but now it's expected that he'd be good in this and he was good and he does a lot with this role but it's just not as impressive the first time around because there's no surprise this time around so yeah I think he is a maybe right now not a guarantee he's probably around like the fifth or sixth spot for me I read somewhere that gagar was planning to go supporting actress for her performance as Harley Quinn and now that I've seen the film I totally understand why it's not category fraud okay she's not a co-lead in this film with walking Phoenix I actually thought that were times in this film where she was a little bit sidelined actually she would have liked to have seen more Gaga in this film but I do think she stands a good chance of getting the nomination but it is still a juicy part for her and she is memorable in this I'm sure Gaga will be campaigning her ass off to get the nomination and I will say that her performance here isn't as big or as loud as what she was doing in House of Gucci Harley Quinn is a character where it's very easy to go big and I actually admire the restrain that Gaga brings to the performance here this is also a triple threat performance from her because she's acting singing and dancing in this film and she does a great job of three I think she is going to get into bestoring actress for this role where else do I think it could get nominated costumes hair and makeup production design and sound are all on the cards screenplay not so much this time around I feel like the first screenplay had so much more to say about Society at large I don't think Todd Phillips is getting the nomination for directing again honestly him showing up in 2020 in that category was a bit of surprise like overr aoic for Little Women plus he's not a musical guy and it shows okay the first film really played more to his strengths best picture I could see happening okay it's not a lock but if the film does bag like a best actor and a best supporting actress nomination and a bunch of like texts or crafts then best picture could come along with it plus with lady gager in this film there is a lot of interest around this film okay people are going to go watch it okay they're going to want to check it out it's going to make money and usually there are one or two Money Maker films in the lineup for Best Picture see I probably will have it in my 10 for best picture but on the lower end it could be like position 8 n or 10 I don't think it's a guarantee but yeah I can see Joker getting a modest nominations Bund at the Oscars like somewhere between like two and maybe six nominations that's how I'm currently feeling with Oscar nominations for Joker Folia dur how about you guys how many oscon Noms do you think the film's going to get uh in what categories whatever you have to say let me know in the comment section down below all right then shall we ask them three questions firstly would I watch this again yeah absolutely I really enjoyed the film I would happily revisit it and I would even add it to my collection question two do I recommend it for you guys I know the first film was quite polarizing so I can't say this film is going to be for everybody but if you are a fan of the first Joker film you will probably enjoy this if you're a fan of walking Phoenix or Lady Gaga they're both fantastic and it is worth checking out for their performances so while I do recommend it if you're one of those people that didn't like the first film then you might want to skip it and third question what score to give out of 10 again I don't think this is as good as the first jokeer film but I do admire and appreciate the risks that Todd Phillips took by making the sequel a courtroom drama jukebox musical SL love story he took some risks with this film I don't think they all paid off but I still had a good time watching this film so I'm going to give Joker fad a score of eight out of 10 but as always guys it is just one bl's opinion I would love to hear from you are you excited for Joker folio do have you seen it if you have what do you make of this film how does it compare to the first film for you if you want more movie TV and Oscars related content don't forget to click subscribe and if you want to stay up to date with all my Venice Festival coverage be sure to follow me on the socials you can find links to all of these in that video description down below and as always thank you guys so much for watching for more things related to movies TV the Oscars and popcorn culture I'm Luke Airfield and I'll see you next time guys