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EntertainmentMoviesAction MoviesDC MoviesJoker 2Joker: Folie à Deux makes it clear that Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn is only just getting started, and I really need moreWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)
The following contains spoilers for Joker: Folie à Deux.
Joker: Folie à Deuxmight be a courtroom drama, but it’s also a surreal, dreamy, and twisted love story between Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck, AKA the Joker himself, and Lady Gaga’s Harley “Lee” Quinn.
As a Lady Gaga superfan of 15 years (a Little Monster, to use the correct terminology) and a massive Harley Quinn fan, it’s safe to say this was one of my most anticipated movies of the year. I was counting down the days to see Gaga shine as Lee, and I came away from the movie convinced it was perfect comic book movie casting – Gaga completely embodies Harley Quinn’s flair for the dramatic, strange vulnerability, and deeply disturbed psyche. Plus, she aces those musical numbers, if there was ever any doubt.
Always leave them wanting more, as they say, and Joker: Folie à Deux certainly left me craving another movie with Gaga’s Lee. In fact, the way the film ends is almost like a passing of the torch – a trading of the jester hat, if you will. While Arthur becomes disillusioned with his Joker persona, Lee falls deeper and deeper into her own alter-ego, even walking out of Arthur’s trial when he turns his back on the Joker.
Clown Princess of Crime
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)
As I watched Lee leave Arthur to his end, though, I couldn’t help thinking she was only just getting started. In this final scene between the ill-fated lovers, Lee fully embodies the classic Harley Quinn style: a full face of smudged clown makeup, the harlequin-inspired outfit, even a new, messy haircut. While Arthur is near bare-faced, in a grey suit, and speaking normally, Lee is in her regalia and still in that dark, dreamy headspace where all the world’s a stage, and she is the star performer.
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It’s also a smart twist on the usual dynamic between Harley and Joker, which involves Harley in a manipulative, abusive relationship. A more calculating, devious Harley,herself the bad influence on Arthur, is fascinating, and I’d love to see how her story could play out now that Arthur is dead. What can she do next? Well, it certainly seems like Gotham is hers for the taking.
So, while the book is closed on Arthur Fleck, it feels as if a new chapter has only just begun for Lee Quinzel. It’s one I really hope I get to see play out on the big screen someday, too, so Gaga’s Lee can fulfil all that deliciously villainous potential. The Joker isshe…
For more on the movie, check out ourJoker: Folie à Deux reviewfor our verdict, or settle in for a marathon with our guide on watching theDC movies in order.
You can also see all theJoker: Folie à Deux Easter eggs, theJoker: Folie à Deux ending explained, whether there’ll be aJoker 3, and if there is aJoker: Folie à Deux post-credits scene.
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
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1
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2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
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2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
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3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3
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4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
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