Lady Gaga | antakalipa

That’s Entertainment

Folie a deux is actually a masterpiece. It’s all in the name, a delusion shared by two people. Arthur Flecks life is a mess, he knows he messed up, he knows he is going away for a long time. He disassociates, he doesn’t live in the real world anymore. He is cooped up in his own world, he is disillusioned with the real world. No one treats him like a human being in the real world. He finds an escape in a girl who idolize’s “Joker”. His shadow finds an outlet and expresses itself. “Joker” manifests himself in the real world, he finds a stage and for the first time in a while, Arthur feels alive again. His “Joker” persona makes him feel alive and it makes sense too, when he is Arthur, he is dark and disillusioned with life but as “Joker”, he has on a colorful costume and make-up. “Joker” is who he wishes he can be but he doesn’t acknowledge that he is “Joker”, it’s all an act for him – entertainment. He doesn’t see and understand “Jokers” darkness, this makes him a stranger to himself. For him being “Joker” is an escape, he is stuck in a rut, he is depressed, he still hates himself because that doesn’t go away and “Joker” makes him daydream about life. When he puts on his costume and make-up, he can put on a show, the world is a stage, he can do anything, he can be anyone but that’s a delusion because we still live in a real world and he is trialed for murdering 5 people, 1 on live TV and 6 if you add his mother. When he fires his lawyer and defends himself as “Joker”, he doesn’t see the gravity of the situation, he puts on a show, the world is a stage, he is so delusional. Who could blame him? His love interest perpetuates and enhances this delusion, she enables Arthur, she gives him an escape, an avenue for “Joker” to express himself, she also dons her costume and make-up so she too can be “Joker”. Arthur thinks this girl is there for him but she is only there for “Joker”. When Arthur denounces “Joker”, the delusion stops and she goes away. She was never real. Arthur denies his shadow and it ends up murdering him because he can’t see it. It’s a delusion of two, Folie a deux but this is also a sequel.

The biggest criticism of the movie is that it’s a musical but that’s entertainment. It’s a creative decision and it’s still a psychological thriller. How else are you going to depict Arthur’s delusion and state of mind. He is literally locked-up, he is disillusioned with the world and it wants to kill him. He can only daydream about a better existence. A musical shows us his frame of mind. “Critically acclaimed” is usually jargon for realistic and accurate – the first movie was that in abundance. It chronicled Arthur’s life in a way that was believable and his dissent to hell made sense observing his character arc. The sequel explores his state of mind, his shadow is not something that is hidden anymore, it’s in the open and Arthur gives it a platform. The shadow is not logical, that’s why a musical is perfect. Musicals have illogical time frames and they are delusional in nature because they don’t happen in real life. Folie a deux = delusion shared by two people, it’s also a sequel (2) and Arthur is murdered by his shadow (his second self). This was clearly thought out, if this is not genius, I don’t know what is. Maybe the sequel was a money grab, you could certainly make a point and say it didn’t warrant one but that’s entertainment, the world demanded it! I do understand the backlash because I was initially one of the guys who pushed back. I didn’t understand, I needed to suspend my judgment and finish the damn movie but I was scared they would tarnish the legacy of the first movie and they didn’t. This is definitely a polarizing movie but as a student of Jung, I will defend this sequel to my last breath.

The box office and awards are not always everything, the product must have soul and integrity. It cannot pander to widespread perceptions about what it should be. The vision is the vision. The Director is also the writer and producer, he understands the source material better than anyone, he created it. It’s literally his story-world, to think it could have been done better is arrogant. Sometimes the media catches on and the audience loves it garnering you acclaim, awards and fortune and sometimes its a miss. Win or lose, the product still has to have soul and integrity. The story continues on Folie a deux and it is told in the best possible way. If you don’t see it, you don’t understand the premise of the movie. This was always shadow work that’s why Joker has mass appeal.

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.