Todd Phillips has been on it for five years clown gives us a dark, surreal look at this iconic comic book villain. Set against the backdrop of the dirty Gotham City of the 1980s, clownNihilism touches on contemporary issues such as political divisions, wealth gaps and social isolation, which will only intensify in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. There was (and still is) much critical debate over whether the film glorified the Joker’s violence or served as a cautionary tale about a community’s neglect of marginalized individuals. Clown: Pas de deuxSadly, its perspective is muddier – and it’s also a worse movie.
After filming talk show host Murray Franklin live on national television in the first film, Arthur Fleck (played by Joaquin Phoenix in another weird and superfluous performance) is in Arkham Asylum He spent five miserable years awaiting trial and has since become a cultural icon known as “The Joker.” One of Arthur Fleck’s best friends (the tough Brendan Gleeson) enrolls him in music therapy sessions, where he meets pop icon and movie star Lady Gaga. Harleen “Lee” Quinzel.
Anti-musical?
There was a lot of discussion about whether Clown: Pas de deux Think of it as a musical. At the Venice Film Festival press conference Last month, Gaga said: “I think the way we approached the music in this movie is very special and very nuanced. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a musical. It’s very different in a lot of ways. Todd Phillips (Todd Phillips) said something similar last month, Tell type That “Most of the music in the movie is really just dialogue. It’s just that Arthur doesn’t have the words to express what he wants to say, so he just sings it. But characters singing their emotions out loud is the definition of a musical, so people naturally feel Puzzled.
Joker and Harley are here Clown: Pas de deux Sure, they did sing their emotions (quite a bit), but the numbers they performed were hardly jaw-dropping. While there are a few exceptions (which are the only truly high-quality parts of the movie), most of the musical sequences are ordinary, everyday scenes of Joker and Harley crooning or sharing their favorite songs from the radio. They’re not the kind of stop-and-gag moments you get in most musicals, where you’re not carried away by the snappy movement and soaring vocals that make you feel everything the characters are feeling.
exist Clown: Pas de deuxclassic Americana songs like “That’s Entertainment,” “I’ve Got the World on a String” and “Gonna Build A Mountain” are randomly inserted and performed with weak voices that rarely convey the current situation or one character’s perspective. Clown: Pas de deux Looks like a fuzzcore version of a musical—and it has Monster Goddess Card At its mercy, the woman has proven time and time again that she is one of the best pop singers of our time.
image: Warner Bros. Pictures
If Todd Phillips leaned more into the genre—over-expressing Arthur Fleck’s mental health struggles, disdain for society, or utter obsession with Harleys in his song choices—he would have given these songs more meaning . Rob Marshall’s Format chicagoThe energetic musical sequences, which function in the minds of the protagonists as a form of escape from their daily lives, are perfect for this film.
There are two scenes that break us out of the film’s monotony and make us care about this odd couple’s romance despite their non-existent spark. One of the best scenes is when the Joker imagines himself singing the Bee Gees’ “Love Somebody” with Harley. The Sonny and Cher Show-Typical of TV series, the characters are dressed in costumes and stand in front of flowing curtains that glow with colorful hues of red, blue and yellow. In another scene, they dance on a rooftop, the Joker in a suit and Harley in a flowing white dress that evokes the elegance of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. A giant moon lights up the bright blue sky, reminding us of dreamy visuals Moulin Rouge.
Another great moment is when Joaquin Phoenix sings “For Once in My Life” in the prison rec room; at first, we’re not sure if the prisoner can actually hear him, but clever editing shows it’s all in his head. His brow was permanently furrowed, his eyes were filled with tears, and his whole body was shaking with despair. He also looks horribly thin—even thinner than in the first film, with sharply protruding shoulder blades. Phoenix’s performance Clown: Pas de deux Same as the first time clownThe story, despite its tedium, keeps us focused on Arthur Fleck’s crumbling mental state. But as the movie goes on, hearing his flat, ragged, barely-varying singing voice over and over again becomes more jarring.
Gaga, woo la la
While Lady Gaga did bring a quiet intensity to the role of the Joker’s sweetheart, this version of Harley Quinn’s character was more of a wide-eyed bum and lacked the firecracker personality of other versions. She’s still completely obsessed with the Joker, gazing at him with starry eyes and admitting she’s seen TV movies about him hundreds of times, but Clown: Pas de deux An interesting twist on this loyalty. Interestingly, Todd Phillips took a more low-key, gritty approach to her character – especially during her special visit to Arthur’s cell – but other versions of Harley Quinn and the Joker were Far more complex and fascinating. exist Clown: Pas de deuxJoker and Lee barely spend any time together, and their lackluster singing fails to establish any real chemistry or emotional depth.
Lee’s pyromaniac gives us one of the film’s few visually stunning scenes, as she sets Arkham Asylum on fire, singing and dancing haphazardly amid the bright, crackling flames. But the singing was again softer and quieter than it was now. The concept of Lady Gaga playing Harley Quinn — a fiery character beloved by many, portrayed by a fiery pop star beloved by many — held a lot of promise. But she often fades into the background, doing little throughout the film other than sitting by the courtroom. What a waste.
Lee’s only purpose was to convince Arthur Fleck that he was the Joker above all else, and that he should accept his true identity during his trial. This goes directly against the wishes of Flake’s government-appointed attorney, Marianne (a detached Catherine Keener), who wants Flake to enter an insanity defense. The tension between Arthur and his Joker persona should be riveting, but the courtroom scenes are a nap that does little to unpack interesting themes, like where Arthur Fleck ends and Joker begins, or what the real illness is in him The heart is still the world itself.
This sudden shift into the legal drama genre rehashes details from the past we already know but offers nothing new. Unlike the first film, where we witnessed the Joker’s fading mental health and his growing anger at an uncaring society, Clown: Pas de deux There is zero plot momentum or character development.
Director Todd Phillips felt more comfortable in the first film, which was a riff on Martin Scorsese’s digital paintings taxi driver and king of comedy Full of DC lore. Clown: Pas de deux The director would benefit greatly from taking inspiration from other films, either fully embracing a Lars von Trier-like subversive realism dancer in the dark Or a direct homage to Hollywood’s Golden Age musicals, e.g. singing in the rain or band wagon.
But it’s drifting in the middle, as numb and apathetic as the emotionally damaged characters. Clown: Pas de deux Steeped in mundane misery, little is said about Assert’s mental stability, his romance with Lee and what initially led him to court. Unfortunately, the best part Clown: Pas de deux is the opening scene, a Looney Tunes-style animation about Shadow the Clown: providing a fun, focused story before veering off into the mundane. Clown: Pas de deux It’s a failed experiment that squanders its promising concept and star cast on a bland and overly gloomy vision. Musicals may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but Clown: Pas de deux manages to make the genre mind-numbingly boring.
