When I found out that the next Joker would be screened in Venice, two main thoughts went through my mind. Thought 1: why on earth would you even risk to attempt at a second part of something that was so close to perfection that it is almost impossible to beat? Thought 2: Gosh I cannot wait to see Joaquin Phoenix being the Joker one more time.
As bits and pieces of information progressively came out on what Joker II would look like (a musical? With Lady Gaga? Really?!), thought 1 started winning over thought 2 inside my head.
Yesterday’s red carpet was a good sociological experiment, perfectly reflecting how these two worlds (the darkness of Joker and a musical with lady Gaga) would be hard to reconcile. The arrival of Joaquin Phoenix together with Todd Philipps was followed by a 10mins wait for Lady Gaga’s entry (not in the standard festival car but walking through the crowd of her hysterical fans). To be honest, in 25 years, I have never seen this happening – not the walking part, but the crew not making an entry as one team ready to defend its artistic project.
What surprised me even more was that most of the crowd was there for Lady Gaga. Yes, yes, I know that she has a huge fan base. But in my rational little mind and given his previous unforgettable performance, I was somehow expecting Phoenix to be the star of the evening… Intriguing.
The movie only confirmed my fears. I don’t think that any of the both worlds (Joker vs Gaga) came out of it with a satisfied spirit. Bear in mind that my previous evening and my deep hatred and anger at the Guadagnino movie, might have not made me the most objective audience in the room. I kept on telling to myself “well, at least it’s not as bad as Queer”.
Considering myself as a defender of the Joker’s darkness, I did not get enough of it. You get bribes of the first movie’s madness – that strange laughter that feels like crying for example – and Phoenix is as stunning as before. I did even very much enjoy his singing of some old American standards – it’s impersonated in such a theatrical way that it feels more like a cry of despair/anger than a song. Quite mesmerizing to me.
And then Gaga appears as her diva self and the dynamic is lost. To be perfectly fair, I did find her quite convincing in a few scenes at the beginning, but then the movie looses its rythm.
The Gaga side, on the other hand, complains that this movie is such a waste of her talent. That there is not enough of a musical to it (true that there are only a few moments of joint Phoenix/Gaga singing and not much of an original song). As I hate musicals, this was actually quite a relief to me. That her acting talent is not given sufficient space. I would say the same, but more on the Phoenix side.
As a conclusion, I would recommend to rewatch the first one instead. Reconciling these two hardly concilable worlds was too big a challenge for Todd Philipps. Though I have loads of sympathy for his urge to spend a bit more time with such an amazing character as the Joker. This is for sure the end of the Joker story, and Joaquin Phoenix will always remain as the most stunning Joker to me.
After that, the second movie was actually worth a watch. It goes back to the golden age of the Italian porn (remember la Cicciolina?) with loads of humour and madness. Though it is a bit messy going continuously back and forth in time, the entire Palabiennale had a good laugh and appreciated the acting performance. Out of all the Italian movies in competition, this is the one for sure standing out.
Klara's cinema 