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