52 | OCTOBER 3 • 2024 J
N

THE JOKER SINGS! MOSS-
BACHRACH, BOOGIE MAN?
Joker: Folie a Deux is the latest 
entry in films inspired by the 
Batman comic books. It opens 
in theaters on Oct. 4. A “Folie a 
Deux” is a French expression that 
describes a delusion or mental 
illness shared by two people in 
close association.
Folie is a sequel to The Joker 
(2019), a huge critical and box-
office hit. Joaquin Phoenix, 49, 
starred as the Joker (real name, 
Arthur Fleck). Phoenix won the 
best actor Oscar (2020) for his 
(first) performance as the Joker/
Arthur Fleck.
As I have noted before, Phoenix 
is the son of a non-Jewish father 
and a Jewish mother. Phoenix is 
not religious and, a few years ago, 
he said he defined himself as a 
“secular Jew.”
In case you are not familiar 
with the Joker character, here’s 
a capsule description: He’s a 
mentally ill, nihilistic criminal with 
a clown-inspired persona. Before 
turning to crime, he was a poor 
party clown and an aspiring stand-
up comedian.
As Folie opens, the Joker/
Arthur Fleck is being held (really 
imprisoned) in a state mental 
hospital. He is there because of 
his crimes in the first Joker film.
Lady Gaga co-stars as Harley 
Quinn, a music therapist at the 
mental hospital. She meets Fleck 
and is curious about him. This 
curiosity turns into obsession, 
and she forms a deadly romantic 
relationship with Arthur Fleck.
Lady Gaga can certainly sing. So 
can Phoenix. Just watch Walk the 
Line (2005), an acclaimed film 
about country music icon Johnny 
Cash. Phoenix got a best actor 
Oscar nomination for this role.
Phoenix (as Cash) sang all the 
songs — quite well — in his own 
voice. To be precise, he didn’t sing 
Cash’s songs in his “regular voice.” 
Johnny Cash spoke and sang in 

a baritone register. Phoenix, who 
takes his roles very seriously, took 
singing and speaking lessons 
for six months to master Cash’s 
baritone register. 
So, here’s a big surprise: Folie 
isn’t just another comic book-
inspired flick; it’s a full-on musical!
A song list has not been 
released. But it’s clear that most 
of the songs are classic hits of the 
past (c. 1920-80). In August 2024, 
the film’s director disclosed that 
Phoenix and Lady Gaga will sing, 
together, at least three songs: “Get 
Happy,” 1930 (music by Harold 
Arlen); “For Once in My Life,” 1965 
(co-written by Ron Miller. He wrote 
several hit songs for Detroit’s 
Motown Records); and “What 
the World Needs Now Is Love” 
(written by Hal David and Burt 
Bacharach).
Folie was directed by Todd 
Philips, 53. He directed the first 
Joker movie, too. He has four 
Oscar nominations, three of them 
for The Joker. He co-wrote both 
Joker films with Scott Silver, 59.
Hold Your Breath is a 
psychological horror-thriller that 
first played the Toronto Film 
Festival on Sept. 12. It begins 
streaming on Hulu on Oct. 3. Most 
of the reviews were mixed. The 
film’s star, Sarah Paulson, was 
praised for her performance, as 
was the rest of the cast. However, 
most reviewers, including Variety, 
said the plot drew on too many 
sources and this ruined some of 
the film’s attempted thrills and 
chills. 

Ebon Moss-Bachrach, 47, who 

won his second acting Emmy (The 
Bear) in September, has a major 
supporting role. 
Here’s the premise: In 1930s 
Oklahoma, Margaret, a young 
mother (Paulson), becomes 
convinced that a mysterious 
presence in dust storms is 
threatening her family and takes 
extraordinary measures to protect 
them. Her husband is working 
out of state, and she is trying to 
keep “bad things” from her teen 
daughters.
About halfway into the film, 
rumors of a local drifter and 
murderer dovetail with the arrival 
of a stranger at Margaret’s home 
(played by Moss-Bachrach). He’s a 
preacher who claims to know her 
husband and who also appears to 
have supernatural powers. Variety 
says: “Moss-Bachrach walks a 
fine line between comfort and 
suspicion, bolstered by the girls’ 
fears over their bedtime story.” 
The “bedtime story” is about “the 
Grey Man,” a “boogie man” killer.
Now and again, I miss 
something (film, TV series) worth 
calling to your attention that 
premiered a week or so before 
this column is published. Here’s 
one I missed:

Killer Heat is an Amazon Prime 
original crime mystery film that 
began streaming on Sept. 26. It’s 
set on the Greek island of Crete 
where two twin brothers (both 
played by Richard Madden) are in 
a romantic triangle involving the 
wife of one the twins. Shailene 
Woodley plays the wife. 
One brother is murdered and 
Nick Bali, a private detective, 
is brought in to investigate the 
case. Bali, who is described 
as a “damaged detective,” is 
also known as “The Jealousy 
Man.” He’s played by Joseph 
Gordon-Levitt, 43. 

CELEBRITY NEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

ARTS&LIFE

HARALD KRICHEL

Joaquin 
Phoenix

Ebon Moss-Bachrach

GAGE SKIDMORE

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

TECHCRUNCH 

