The first Joker film from Todd Phillips was a look into a specific subsection of America and maybe the world as a whole. He combined elements from Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, two films from Martin Scorsese. They both deal with aspects of a single man, Travis Bickle, and Rupert Pupkin, looking for acceptance from society. They both resort to things they shouldn’t to get attention and or noticed by people. They resemble the character in the Joker, Arthur Fleck, perfectly. Phoenix embodies this man as well as I  could imagine. Phillips gets this character and the world he lives in. Joker Folie a Deux is just the second part of trying to describe who this man truly is.

Joker Folie a Deux is another side of this character. He has difficulty with his mother who bullied him and who he later killed in the first film. Bullying is another element of all three of these characters I’ve mentioned, the bullying he endured at the hands of Brendan Gleeson’s character of Jackie Sullivan the head of the prison guards goes right in line with who this man is. Men like him can only be pushed so far before they do something they will regret. 

The second aspect of the character is loneliness. These types of people find solace in their own thoughts and so forth. When a woman, in this case Lee, (Lady Gaga) short for Harley Quinzel takes notice of this man and his deeds he can’t help but be smitten by her. The problem is he can’t see past his nose. She is manipulating him. Women a tendency to do this to men they deal with who are vulnerable and weak. He was the perfect candidate for her feminine wiles. She manipulated him beyond belief.  Lonely men are susceptible to this. They may in fact embrace it to some extent.  This is a key part of this second film, but goes hand in hand with who this character of Arthur Fleck truly is.

The first and second movies both want to say that the Joker is a split personality and that these are two separate people in one body. I say that these are just two sides of the same man. The closed-off side who is bullied, taken advantage of, lied to, and treated like garbage is the true Arthur Fleck. The Joker side is the free side.  The side that wants to do all the things he’s not supposed to do. Killing other human beings is the most out-there dark side of this man’s personality.  This is the side we all wish to some extent we could be, but we refrain from being the worst sides of ourselves that we will regret if we do.

As the world has progressed in medicine and mental health there have been many ways to describe illness or mental health. Anxiety and depression are a couple of things that help describe what people are dealing with. I like to say that these types of people are in cells. People who hide behind their computer or phone and put their negativity on others to make themselves feel better. Not that it ever does. These people are very similar to the character of Arthur Fleck. They are damaged people who have dealt with a lot of the same issues he’s dealt with in his life. So they revert to being somebody else hidden behind a phone or computer screen. It’s a sad state of affairs, but it’s part of who we’ve become as a society. 

Joker Folie a Deux is part two of an overall description of a damaged man who has been manipulated by a woman, bullied by the prison guards, and used as a symbol for a specific subsection of America and maybe the world.  Phoenix and Phillips get who this man is in the film and who he represents in society.  I could even relate to him on some level.  Men like him need to get help from therapy or medicine in whatever way they can. Not resort to violence. Many people will miss the point of this movie as part two of an overall story. I didn’t , I think this was a look at our society and it’s not very pretty.  I say find someone to talk to no matter how hard it is.  Don’t stew in your juices. Get help if that’s what you need. I did!

Dan Skip Allen