Joker: Folie à Deux is not exactly sitting well with critics or general audiences, especially since the controversial ending swings for the fences. Joaquin Phoenix is the latest to defend how the Joker sequel handles his character during its conclusion, saying that it reinforces the film’s major themes. In many ways, the ending of Joker: Folie à Deux is a response to the first film and in defiance of how fans perceived the Batman villain, instead focusing on the true nature of Arthur Fleck. If you haven’t watched the film, beware of major spoilers for Joker: Folie à Deux.
Joaquin Phoenix talked to IGN about Arthur Fleck’s shocking death at the hands of a fellow inmate. Throughout Joker: Folie à Deux, Phoenix’s character slowly comes to terms with himself and his past actions, eventually disavowing his Joker persona in front of the court. His journey ends when a young man approaches him to tell a joke, which Arthur obliges. It’s a moment that actually showed positive growth for Arthur, even though it ends with the creation of a new Joker. Phoenix defends the controversial scene, saying:
“There’s a warmth in that scene, which is nice. That’s all that I was thinking about that I was after, is here’s this young man who’s telling me a joke and he’s nervous to tell me the joke, I can tell that he’s nervous, and I’m going to hear him out. And it’s a pretty good setup.”
At the end of the day, Arthur Fleck knows what it’s like to want to make someone laugh, especially after having failed to do so for much of 2019’s Joker. Of course, the fact that Folie à Deux did not end with the official coronation of Joaquin Phoenix as the Clown Prince of Crime rubbed fans the wrong way. And understandably so, as the sequel’s ending could be interpreted as a last-second cop-out. However, the filmmakers behind Joker insist that the ending’s major turn was always the right choice.
Joker 2 Director Backs Up Divisive Ending
Todd Phillips also spoke with IGN about Arthur’s final moments, and how it connects to who the character has always been under the Joker persona. When Arthur confesses his crimes and renounces the moniker, it is a major step towards what he’s struggled with — being content with his own true nature. To Phillips, the death scene allowed him to become “at peace” with who he was.
“I think Arthur has found peace with the idea, with the struggle that it’s okay to be yourself. And that’s really what he’s always struggled with, you know what I mean? I like to think he died at peace in a way being himself.
The kid says to him, ‘You want to hear a joke?’ And even though he thinks maybe it’s (Lee) downstairs. We don’t even know what’s downstairs, but that sort of optimism that Arthur has, that’s still in him. He’s like, ‘Well, yeah, okay, of course’ because he knows that feeling of wanting to make somebody laugh. So he gives the kid that moment, right? Obviously it goes bad because, again, everything goes bad for Arthur, but I always think that’s such a beautiful moment where it’s like Arthur still has hope.”
Related Joker: Folie à Deux Director Denies That the Sequel Is Actually About Toxic Fans
Fans have been speculating on social media whether there is a deeper commentary behind Todd Phillips’ divisive sequel.
One of the most disappointing aspects of the shocking ending to Joker: Folie à Deux is the fact audiences will now never see Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker interact with Batman. This had always been unlikely since Bruce Wayne was still a child, and Phillips consistently expressed his distaste for the source material whenever he got the chance to do so. Still, it’s a disappointing prospect for diehard fans of the superhero genre, even though it is a subversive and thematically impactful decision to kill Arthur Fleck while leaving him the happiest he’s been.
Joker: Folie à Deux is the sequel to Todd Phillips’ critically acclaimed comic book thriller Joker. Reprising his Academy Award-winning performance as the failed comedian Arthur Fleck, Joaquin Phoenix revisits the iconic DC character alongside Lady Gaga, who makes her debut as Joker’s lover Harley Quinn in this standalone continuity of the DC Universe.
Release Date October 4, 2024
Cast Joaquin Phoenix , Lady Gaga , Brendan Gleeson , Catherine Keener , Zazie Beetz , Steve Coogan , Harry Lawtey , Leigh Gill , Jacob Lofland , Sharon Washington , Troy Fromin , Bill Smitrovich , John Lacy , Ken Leung
Runtime 138 Minutes
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