Joker: Folie a Deux puts a twist on a famous (or should that be infamous) comic book romance. Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix returns as Arthur Fleck who, having been crowned as Gotham City's anarchic Joker, finds himself incarcerated in Arkham Asylum. There, he meets and falls for Lee (Lady Gaga) and their emergent romance soon takes on a fantastical air by way of a sweeping musical.
The movie is released on October 4th in special formats at Cineworld, including IMAX. Here's why you need to make a date with Arthur and Lee in IMAX, from the characters to the story and the music.
1. It was filmed specifically for the IMAX format
Director Todd Phillips has described Joker: Folie a Deux ('a madness shared by two') as a jukebox musical. The film depicts a bad romance on an epic scale and for that reason, Phillips shot the movie on IMAX cameras to better enhance the operatic tragedy of Arthur Fleck's story. It also underlines Arthur's overwhelming emotion toward Lee, who eventually becomes Harley Quinn.
"I really believe the IMAX experience is second to none," says Phillips. "It's not just in the shared space with 400 strangers but in the feeling that its sheer size evokes."
"These actors are translating something unsaid to the audience through their eyes," explains cinematographer Laurence Sher. "When you see it big, it's wonderful."
Find out more about the IMAX experience in the following clip.
2. IMAX invites you to get lost in the characters
The human face possesses just as much geographical intrigue as the most sweeping of landscapes. Joker: Folie a Deux is full of actors whose physical features take on their own form of geography, from Phoenix's tortured turn as Arthur, alternately introverted, rage-fuelled and given to manic outbursts of laughter, to Gaga's watchful, soulful turn as Lee.
The excellent cast also includes character actors Brendan Gleeson, Steve Coogan, Catherine Keener and Harry Lawtey. The film's vivid ensemble, many of whom are given to speaking almost entirely with their eyes, is well-served by the specifications of IMAX.
Not only does the screen size make the characters seem even larger and more overwhelming, but with dual projection, the image has the perfect balance of warmth and sharpness to draw you into something as close to reality as you have ever experienced.
3. The world of Gotham seems even larger in IMAX
The first Joker was acclaimed for its Martin Scorsese-aping aesthetic, depicting Gotham City by way of Taxi Driver. We could practically breathe in the air of social malaise in a city distinguished by festering alleyways overrun by giant rats.
Joker: Folie a Deux adopts the same shadowy, seamy aesthetic, plunging us into the dank corridors of Arkham Asylum where Arthur is being held. This claustrophobia is offset by the vivacity of the musical sequences, which represent Arthur's soul struggling to get out, only for us to come down to Earth with a bump again when we're faced with the monolithic court of justice where Arthur is being tried for his crimes.
The movie's yin and yang balance between oppressively palpable reality and escapist fantasy is set to be enhanced by IMAX's enlarged screens. As Joaquin Phoenix says, "It's a vast film", so where better to experience it than on the biggest screen you can find?
4. IMAX emboldens the vibrant colours of the musical sequences
IMAX's remastering process helps ensure that primary colours pop off the screen with greater depth and sharpness. This is what film fans want from Joker: Folie a Deux, which frequently drifts into musical reveries that serve the blossoming relationship between Arthur and Lee.
Todd Phillips has clearly taken his cue from a host of classic Technicolor musicals from Singin' in the Rain to the Umbrellas of Cherbourg. These films were celebrated for their emotive use of arresting shades to represent psychological temperatures and Joker: Folie a Deux continues this mantle, boosted further by the IMAX sharpness and expanse.
5. IMAX digital surround sound enhances both the sound and the music
IMAX auditoriums are equipped with a perfectly tuned integrated sound and speaker system for heart-pounding audio that will truly blow you away. This is pivotal for a movie like Joker: Folie a Deux, which melds a comic book origin story with the needs of the classic Hollywood musical.
If the trailer is anything to go by (it uses 'What the World Needs Now is Love Sweet Love'), we can expect an eclectic mixture of show tunes and recent pop staples. IMAX promises to enhance the nuances of the songs that underscore Arthur and Lee's nascent romance, and then there's Hildur Gudnadottir's score.
The composer won an Oscar for her brooding score for Joker and she's released the following extract from the sequel soundtrack. Just imagine how good the following clip will sound in pin-sharp, emotionally resonant IMAX.
Click the link below to book your tickets for Joker: Folie a Deux. It's released on October 4th.
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