We have come a long way since the months and weeks leading up to the release of Joker (2019) when many otherwise smart people believed that the movie would cause riots or some kind of unrest in the streets. The character of Joker as it is written and portrayed in the movie, they argued, might inspire many such lonely men to go on murder sprees. It did not happen. And now the sequel Joker: Folie à Deux is here. The movie is a part musical part psychological thriller and has an absolute jackhammer of a final scene. Here’s Joker: Folie à Deux plot and ending scene explained.
Helmed by returning director Todd Phillips, the movie brings back Joaquin Phoenix as the titular Clown Prince of Crime and Batman’s arch-nemesis who has appeared several times in movies about the Dark Knight. This time, however, he is not alone as Joker’s paramour, Harleen Quinzel, better known as Harley Quinn, joins him in his criminal escapades.
Joker: Folie à Deux begins with the logo of DC Studios, but it does come under the umbrella of DC Universe that James Gunn is developing. Rather, it is set within its own universe and is not connected to any other DC movie or series.
Spoiler alert!
Joker: Folie à Deux plot and ending explained: What’s the DC supervillain’s future?
Joaquin Phoenix won an Oscar for his performance in the original movie, which was also the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time until Deadpool & Wolverine dethroned it in July this year.
The movie is set not long after the original at the end of which Arthur Fleck, while dressed as the Joker in a red gaudy suit and clown makeup, murdered comedian and talk show host Murray Franklin (played by Robert de Niro) on live television. He also confessed to murdering three men in the subway. While he was being taken to prison, his followers ambushed the police vehicle. By the end, though, Arthur appeared to be locked up. At the centre of the sequel is Arthur’s murder trial. Well, that and his relationship with Harley Quinn.
Lady Gaga essays the role of Harley and also lends her singing prowess to the movie’s many, many musical numbers. Also in the movie are Zazie Beetz (returning from the original movie as Sophie Dumond, a woman Arthur imagined he was dating her), Brendan Gleeson and Catherine Keener in important roles.
What happens in Joker: Folie à Deux plot and ending scene?
Joker: Folie à Deuxplot finds Arthur locked up in Arkham State Hospital (Arkham Asylum from comics). He is an inmate in the wing reserved for the criminally insane and since he killed multiple people and appears to be mentally ill, he qualifies. He is bullied by the guards led by Jackie Sullivan (played by Gleeson) and suffers their injustices without protest. His attorney Maryanne Stewart (played by Keener) is preparing him for the trial. She is planning to mount the classic insanity defence, that he was not right in the head when he committed those murders.
Arthur does not seem to care either way. He is resigned to his fate, whatever it is. That is until one day, he spots a woman in the wing of Arkham where the more civilised inmates live. The woman is Harley Quinn and they instantly hit it off, bonding over their respective insanities. She tells him that she murdered her father and her mother had her institutionalised.
They fall into love, though Harley is solely interested in the Joker persona and does not care one whit about Arthur. We know this because one night, she somehow sneaks into his cell and only kisses him once he has put on the Joker makeup.
Arthur Fleck’s trial in Joker: Folie à Deux
Arthur is represented by Stewart, whose focus is to prove that he has dissociative identity disorder. On the other side is Harry Lawtey as Harvey Dent, an assistant district attorney who you may know as Two-Face. He wants to do his best to make sure Arthur will sit on the electric chair. Stewart discourages Arthur to not let the monster out, so to speak. But Harley as we know is attracted only to the Joker.
We are shown elaborate song and dance routines most of which, if not all, appear to be entirely in Arthur’s head. For him, as in the first movie, the Joker persona is a fantasy. He was a societal outcast, overlooked and unappreciated and it took him to commit multiple murders to finally pay him any attention. It was when he became the Joker did the world sat and took notice.
And yet, during the trial, though he comes in the Joker getup after firing his attorney and choosing to represent himself, he ends up admitting that he is not really the Joker. He is the same old Arthur Fleck he has always been. As he admits that, you can see Harley falling out of love out. Then, suddenly, there is an explosion from an outside source and everybody is incapacitated for a while. Seeing his chance, Arthur escapes. He finds Harley on the stairs leading up to his home. But she has only come to say goodbye. Arthur is arrested.
Joker: Folie à Deuxending scene explained: Who kills Arthur?
Just when we thought the movie was done, it springs up a surprise right at the end. It seems Joker: Folie à Deux is the final Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix, for he dies during the ending scene. It is an inmate that we saw glimpses of earlier in the movie. He was different from the rest and definitely had an interest in Arthur Fleck, or at least the Joker. We see Arthur going to meet a visitor (maybe or maybe not Harley) when he is accosted by the inmate. He says he will tell a joke and promises he will keep it short. When the time for the punchline comes, he repeats Arthur’s final words to Murray “You get what you f***ing deserve” and stabs him repeatedly in the stomach. As Arthur falls dead to the ground, in the background the inmate is carving a smile on his face. What does that mean? Is he the new Joker?
If you remember, the late Heath Ledger’s joker in the Christopher Nolan movie The Dark Knight (2008) also had scars that formed a permanent, albeit too-wide, smile on his face. And I believe this is a tribute to that Joker. His existence also suggests that like Batman, Joker is also more of a symbol than a single individual. This eerie passing of the torch could imply that Gotham will always have a Joker, as long as there are people disillusioned by the world around them and embrace their chaotic side.
No, the inmate does not become Ledger’s Joker and takes on Christian Bale’s Batman. At least I think that is not what the director intended.
Joker: Folie à Deux brief review
I was initially excited by the idea that Joker: Folie à Deux will be a musical. However, after watching the movie I feel it was a bad idea. If you’re making a musical, you’d better commit to it. The songs in the movie are half-heartedly directed and shot. I am sure the movie had the budget but the set design is pretty lack-lustre.
What saves the film is the same stuff that worked for the original: Phoenix’s performance, cinematography, and soundtrack. Also, the psychological thriller elements in the movie were as compelling as it was in the first one. Gaga is luminous here, but sadly, she is only present for a handful of scenes in the movie.
Joker Folie à Deux release date
Joker Folie à Deux’s release date in India was on 2 October while in the US and most other markets, it will hit theatres on 4 October.
Joker Folie à Deux trailer
Here is a trailer for Joker Folie à Deux
(Hero and Featured Image: Courtesy of IMDb)
The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.
