Imagine casting a world-renowned singer in your multi-million dollar movie and then telling her, “Hey, you know that thing that you’re amazing at? Can you maybe try sucking at it?” That’s exactly what Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix did for the upcoming Joker: Folie à Deux. In the sequel, Lady Gaga plays Harleen Quinzel, a woman who falls in love with Arthur Fleck (Phoenix), a.k.a. Joker, while the pair are incarcerated together. The labeling of Folie à Deux as a “musical” has faced some contention from Phillips and Gaga, but it has been confirmed that Lady Gaga does sing in the movie – it just might not sound like the Lady Gaga we know and love.
Speaking to Vogue, Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga addressed Joker: Folie à Deux‘s musical sequences. Phoenix revealed that Lady Gaga had to lose a lot of her singing technique in the sequences in order to help find her character. Few people in the world can sing like Lady Gaga, especially not Harleen Quinzel. Phoenix explained:
“I encouraged her to sing poorly. I remember asking her to sing without her vibrato. She has a beautiful vibrato — too beautiful. I think she felt naked without it. But as soon as she moved away from technique, she unlocked her character’s voice.”
Much like how Joker put a fresh spin on the titular villain’s origin story (not that he ever really had one) and motives, Joker: Folie à Deux introduces a new version of Harley Quinn. The character has also been played by Margot Robbie, who starred in Suicide Squad and its reboot, the distinctly different The Suicide Squad, as well as the very different Birds of Prey. While Harley Quinn is one of the most popular DC characters, Lady Gaga ignored the past iterations, and looked at her own career and personal history to create a new iteration of the character. She said:
“Harley Quinn is a character people know from the ether of pop culture. I had a different experience creating her, namely my experience with mania and chaos inside — for me, it creates a quietness. Sometimes, women are labeled as these overly emotional creatures and when we are overwhelmed we are erratic or unhinged. But I wonder if when things become so broken from reality, when we get pushed too far in life, what if it makes you…quiet?”
Joker: Folie à Deux Isn’t a Musical – Unless It Is?
The press tour and marketing materials have strangely attempted to dance around labeling Joker: Folie à Deux as a musical. When the sequel was first announced, Phillips declared the new film would be a musical. However, the cast and crew have since gone back and forth on this. During the film’s press conference at the Venice Film Festival, Lady Gaga adamantly declared that Folie à Deux isn’t a musical, saying, “it’s very different.” However, the singer and actress then went on to explain why it wasn’t a musical… by defining the core component of a musical. She explained:
“The music is a way to give the characters a way to express themselves because the dialogue wasn’t enough.”
Joker: Folie à Deux recently held its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. While the movie received a 12-minute standing ovation from the crowd (during which Joaquin Phoenix hilariously left early), the movie was met with surprisingly divisive reviews. Critics’ opinions appear to range between 1-star slams, which label the movie as “boring,” and calling it a 5-star masterpiece. Joker: Folie à Deux currently sits at 61% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Joker: Folie à Deux
releases in theaters on October 4, 2024.
