One might have simply expected a continuation of the first chapter, picking up with Arthur Fleck/Phoenix confined in Arkham psychiatric prison, waiting for trial for the murders he confessed to on live TV. But the film is much, much more than this, completely unexpected and surprising. It could be described as a musical that takes unpredictable turns, a film that is both extremely brave and tough, dark and radically pessimistic, with a very compelling Lady Gaga. I remember watching it in February at the Warner screening rooms in Los Angeles, together with Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan and some of the screenwriters who had worked on the film. When the lights came back on at the end of the screening, we were all left surprised with our mouths still wide open. Venturing into the challenge of a sequel to a hugely successful film and winning it, Phillips reaffirms his reputation as one of the bravest and most reliable contemporary directors.
Two years after killing Murray Franklin on live television and riding the wave of a city in full-blown civil war, Arthur Fleck is confined to the Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, still consumed by his delusions. There, he meets the love of his life, Harleen Frances Qui...
