Leading the way among the most anticipated titles of October, “Joker: Folie à Deux” returned to the spotlight after its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, and once again critics’ opinions were divided. Much like its predecessor – on the one hand elevated to an authorial example of a comic book film, on the other considered a banal reinterpretation of Martin Scorsese’s “The King of Comedy” – the sequel directed by Todd Phillips starring the inevitable Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga for the first time as Harley Quinn, received generally positive reviews when the review embargo expired, with a score on Rotten Tomatoes of around 60%.
A clear sign that, upon release, Joker 2 will have to deal with a large group of supporters and, no less, detractors. Once again, it was Phoenix's performance that convinced those present, confirming the excellent work he has already done in the past on the character, earning him the Oscar in 2019 for best leading actor. On this aspect, there has been much talk of the extreme diet that the actor had to undergo to prepare for the role, made even more difficult by the frequent dance scenes in the film.
Asked at the press conference, Phoenix said: “I’m not going to talk about the specifics of the diet, because I don’t think anyone really wants to hear that. But it feels a little more complicated this time just because there was a lot of dance rehearsal that we had, which I didn’t have last time. It felt a little harder but that’s for sure. But you’re right, at 49, I probably shouldn’t do it again. It’s probably the last time for me.” Looking back on that sensitive time, he continued: “I know, last time I was the one talking about it but it’s hard to do without it becoming an obsession, because you’re working all the time to get to a certain weight. So you end up talking about it and then it just sounds like an actor talking about how much weight he’s lost. At the end of that time I was so fed up with myself and mad at myself for putting so much emphasis on that part, because you just do what you have to do. So this time I was like, I’m not going to do it.”
Lady Gaga's artistic performance was equally convincing, and during the meeting with journalists she wanted to clarify her positions. According to the star, it would be inappropriate to define "Joker - Folie à Deux" as a musical, as some news channels labeled it even before the title was previewed. On this aspect, she commented: "It's very different. Music is a way to give the characters a means to express themselves, because dialogue wasn't enough. It set an extremely high bar, and I think that sometimes, when you tell stories of people who are misunderstood by society, the actors and the director can show you something you don't know. And with Joker I felt like I understood and saw something that I had never understood before."
