Joker: Folie A Deux made me feel like a kid again – just not in a way that I’d missed. It reminded me of when my parents would put on an old musical, before I’d learnt to appreciate them, and I’d sit there waiting for the songs to end so they would get back to moving the story along.
The film’s director, Todd Phillips, has repeatedly insisted that the sequel to his 2019 blockbuster isn’t a strict musical. Perhaps it should have been. Instead, what we have here is a hybrid courtroom-prison drama in which Academy Award-winner Joaquin Phoenix and franchise newcomer Lady Gaga repeatedly pause the story to sing an old pop song – only there’s not much story to move along either.
The songs are ostensibly there so the characters, Arthur Fleck/Joker and Harley Quinn (here called Lee) respectively, can work through their feelings. In my preview screening in Dubai, comprised of a packed audience of devoted fans of the original, the only emotional reactions the songs elicited were collective groans that grew louder every time the symphony would start to swell.
A part of me feels Phillips wouldn’t mind this reaction, as Joker: Folie a Deux is a deeply resentful film. It’s resentful of its predecessor, of its audience, of the broader world and all the callously indifferent people that populate it.
The only person that the film doesn’t seem to resent is Arthur Fleck himself, and that’s only because it can’t quite figure out who he is. That’s really the point of the film, and the question we spend nearly 140 minutes tediously considering. And much like the last one, there’s no subtlety to be had here.
Here’s a joke that Fleck himself tells sombrely during one court room scene: “Knock, knock. Who’s there? Arthur Fleck. Arthur Fleck who?” The joke ends there, as we cut away to think about the confused nature of a man who became an idea and now feels devoured by it.
The film picks up not long after the first one left off. Fleck is in the prison ward of a mental institution, viciously beaten regularly by his guards. He’s awaiting trial for the people he killed, including the public shooting of Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro) live on television.
The outside world, meanwhile, thinks of Fleck as a folk hero, a larger-than-life figure known as Joker, who used a violent spectacle to reject the absurdity of the world’s many evils. He’s a powerful voice against the system, though not one that provides any alternative, instead embodying the desire to burn it all down.
Lady Gaga plays his biggest fan, a patient in the psych ward who is enamoured with Fleck’s Joker side and wants to partner with him so the two can become king and queen of a hell of their own making. For Fleck, this is the first time he’s experienced love in his life – his mother saw him as a burden and a disappointment – and makes him want to become something bigger than the shell he’s resigned himself to in prison.
Ironically, it’s not Joker who he wants to become, and throughout the film, Joker feels like a costume rather than a character, rejecting the promise of the previous film’s end. When we see glimpses of Joker in the court room scenes, it feels somewhere between an impression and a cameo, a flicker of anti-hero light that quickly blows out. If the first film was an origin story, this is a blackened mirror, stubbornly refusing to reflect.
Love helps Arthur see his humanity, makes him want to consider who he is, was, and how he got there instead of destroying himself in favour of an idea, a shadow. But the idea he created was too powerful, and the film seems to imply that if he doesn’t want to be Joker, that doesn’t mean that Joker won’t persist – with or without him.
These are interesting ideas, admittedly. I’m almost talking myself into liking the film the more I think about it. But the framework doesn't satisfyingly or compellingly mine the ideas. Perhaps it would take a writer who could scratch a little deeper, or plot a bit stronger, than Phillips is seemingly capable of or interested in being on his own.
Because even if, in the days after watching it, you’re able to craft some compelling mental scaffolding when considering this failed sequel, nothing can erase the tedious experience of sitting through its hollow, tensionless courtroom sequences and monotonous, excruciatingly violent prison scenes.
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
There’s one scene early on in which Lee and Arthur flirt with the idea of a prison escape, running into the night as the building burns behind them. This is the only time I felt genuine excitement, hoping that maybe I was wrong to assume we were about to spend the entire sequel stuck in these two locations, and maybe a grander story was about to break free. That hope was quickly squashed.
To me, the first film felt like a warning against the monsters that a cruel world creates. It felt like a call to action against a broken society, an act of radical empathy so accessible that anyone who watched it was able to see their own pain reflected in his face paint.
And what do we end up with here? Redemption doesn’t seem possible. There will never be a place for Arthur Flecks, only Jokers. Was that a message worth returning for? What are we doing here, exactly?
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Find the right policy for you
Don’t wait until the week you fly to sign up for insurance – get it when you book your trip. Insurance covers you for cancellation and anything else that can go wrong before you leave.
Some insurers, such as World Nomads, allow you to book once you are travelling – but, as Mr Mohammed found out, pre-existing medical conditions are not covered.
Check your credit card before booking insurance to see if you have any travel insurance as a benefit – most UAE banks, such as Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, have cards that throw in insurance as part of their package. But read the fine print – they may only cover emergencies while you’re travelling, not cancellation before a trip.
Pre-existing medical conditions such as a heart condition, diabetes, epilepsy and even asthma may not be included as standard. Again, check the terms, exclusions and limitations of any insurance carefully.
If you want trip cancellation or curtailment, baggage loss or delay covered, you may need a higher-grade plan, says Ambareen Musa of Souqalmal.com. Decide how much coverage you need for emergency medical expenses or personal liability. Premium insurance packages give up to $1 million (Dh3.7m) in each category, Ms Musa adds.
Don’t wait for days to call your insurer if you need to make a claim. You may be required to notify them within 72 hours. Gather together all receipts, emails and reports to prove that you paid for something, that you didn’t use it and that you did not get reimbursed.
Finally, consider optional extras you may need, says Sarah Pickford of Travel Counsellors, such as a winter sports holiday. Also ensure all individuals can travel independently on that cover, she adds. And remember: “Cheap isn’t necessarily best.”
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In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
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Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENomad%20Homes%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHelen%20Chen%2C%20Damien%20Drap%2C%20and%20Dan%20Piehler%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20and%20Europe%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20PropTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2444m%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Acrew%20Capital%2C%2001%20Advisors%2C%20HighSage%20Ventures%2C%20Abstract%20Ventures%2C%20Partech%2C%20Precursor%20Ventures%2C%20Potluck%20Ventures%2C%20Knollwood%20and%20several%20undisclosed%20hedge%20funds%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Final round
25 under - Antoine Rozner (FRA)
23 - Francesco Laporta (ITA), Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA), Andy Sullivan (ENG), Matt Wallace (ENG)
21 - Grant Forrest (SCO)
20 - Ross Fisher (ENG)
19 - Steven Brown (ENG), Joakim Lagergren (SWE), Niklas Lemke (SWE), Marc Warren (SCO), Bernd Wiesberger (AUT)
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HOW TO WATCH
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
