With superhero and IP-based movies having come to dominate film culture over the past 15 years, there has been an almost tangible longing among audiences for the special place cinema used to occupy in the culture. From A Clockwork Orange and Taxi Driver to Pulp Fiction and Fight Club, the greatest movies were stunningly original visions that prompted intense discussion and debate. Often highly controversial, these films sparked conversation and analysis that often lasted for months.

While such movies may be a rarer pleasure these days, in 2019 we got one that arrived from a somewhat unexpected place. Previously best known as the director of comedic efforts like The Hangover and War Dogs, New York filmmaker Todd Phillips dared to reflect the dystopian nature of Trump-era America in 2019’s Joker.

The film starred Joaquin Phoenix as the downtrodden stand-up Arthur Fleck, whose increasingly unhinged behaviour eventually sees him morph into the titular protagonist – the most revered of all the characters in Batman’s infamous rogues’ gallery of villains – and initiate an unlikely political uprising in Gotham. This occurs after he kills three attackers in self-defence, with scores of followers soon donning Joker-style make-up and citing him as the sole beacon of hope in a city going to hell in a handcart.

With Phoenix’s bravura, Oscar-winning performance at the black heart of the movie, Phillips’ powerful thesis was that, in a society that was socially and politically disintegrating, people would gratefully seize on any kind of leadership – no matter how deranged or dysfunctional the figurehead they were weighing in behind.

Nominally a blockbuster from the extended Batman universe, Joker’s genuine edge – inspired by gritty Scorsese efforts like The King Of Comedy and the aforementioned Taxi Driver, as well as other ’70s New York classics like Serpico – made it into a cultural sensation and a box office smash, eventually grossing over a billion dollars.

Thus, Joker became that unicorn in modern cinema: the commercial behemoth that simultaneously acts as an artistic provocation. Many were the columns and social media threads devoted to debating the movie. Was it too brutal? Too sympathetic to Arthur? Likely to inspire real life violence?

Everybody had an opinion, and if few conclusions were definitively reached, one thing was clear: Joker was a massive hit and there was considerable appetite for a sequel. Which left Phillips and Phoenix to address the immortal question once posed by Pulp on This Is Hardcore – namely, what exactly do you for an encore?

One of the select few Batman villains to boast the charisma and magnetism of the Joker is Harley Quinn, and it has long been apparent that the duo required their own big screen outing. Indeed, the sparks that flew between Jared Leto as Joker and Margot Robbie as Harley in 2016’s Suicide Squad was perhaps the main redeeming feature of that wildly uneven movie.

All of which meant the announcement that Harley Quinn would be portrayed by Lady Gaga in Joker: Folie à Deux caused the already feverish anticipation around the film to crank up another gear. Originally sparked by a dream Phoenix had in which Arthur Fleck sang and told jokes, Phillips and his co-writer Scott Silver began envisioning the sequel as a musical, which would put a unique spin on the Joker saga while also playing to pop megastar Gaga’s obvious strengths.

Gaga portrays the character in more realistic style than previous iterations, in keeping with the tone of Joker (a subtle shift emphasised in the movie by her official name being Harleen ‘Lee’ Quinzel). Earlier this year, the singer told Empire of the unique challenges the role presented.

“It was unlike anything I’ve ever done before,” she explained. “When I breathe to sing onstage, I have this very controlled way to make sure that I’m on pitch… but Lee would never know how to do any of that. So, it’s like removing the technicality of the whole thing, removing my perceived art-form from it and being completely inside of who she is.”

In another press appearance, Gaga noted she was attracted to the darkness of Folie à Deux.

“Darkness healed me,” she reflected. “In the moments where I explore the dark arts of film, fashion, photography, make-up, music – I always go to another level when it’s dark. It creates a war within yourself when you feel that way.”

Also speaking to Empire, meanwhile, Phillips elaborated further on the twisted dynamic between Harley and Joker.

“She became the way how Manson had girls that idolised him,” he said. “The way that these individuals have people who look up to them. There are things about Harley in the movie that were taken from the comic books, but we took it and made it the way we wanted it to be.”

After a Looney Tunes-inspired prologue, Joker: Folie à Deux kicks off in Arkham Asylum, with the emaciated Arthur at the centre of a raging debate about whether he’s mentally fit enough to stand trial. Gotham’s ambitious DA Harvey Dent (Harry Lawtey) wants to put him in the dock, whilst Arthur’s kindly lawyer Maryanne Stewart (indie favourite Catherine Keener) believes he deserves greater protection.

Amidst the legal back and forth, pathological liar and pyromaniac Harleen Quinzel meets Arthur in a music rehabilitation class and gets him off his meds. Although it’s a relationship that effectively sets a world record for red flags, the duo are instantly inseparable and pretty soon causing no end of havoc in Gotham. The wild psycho-drama between Joker and Harleen is played out in a series of musical numbers, with Phoenix describing the relationship as a “psychotic tango”.

Among the standards used to tease out the pair’s complex dynamic are ‘Get Happy’, ‘For Once In My Life’ and ‘That’s Life’. But the musical numbers are but one element in a virtuoso piece of filmmaking, with Joker: Folie à Deux also incorporating elements of a thriller, prison movie and courtroom drama.

It’s a truly exhilarating ride, and that’s before we even get to the inspired turns from the supporting cast, including Brendan Gleeson as Arkham guard Jackie Sullivan; Steve Coogan as TV personality Paddy Meyers, who interviews Joker in prison; and Zazie Beetz, who returns from the first movie as Sophie Dumond, Arthur’s one-time neighbour.

Still, in amongst the fun and frolics, what once again makes Joker: Folie à Deux essential viewing is the manner in which it holds a mirror to the current fraught state of American society. Similar to the first movie, Arthur becomes a focal point for the boiling anger in the city – equally loved and loathed, he exposes a painfully polarised community. As with the original Joker, the sequel has an air of menacing punk nihilism that’s not easy to shake.

“It’s all been corrupted,” Phillips told Variety. “Look at the recent presidential debate: there’s a countdown clock and all these gladiatorial graphics. Or take the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial. Everything is just treated as entertainment now, and there’s something sad and troubling about that.”

Todd Phillips

Unquestionably one of 2024’s must-see cinematic events, the buzz around Joker: Folie à Deux has continued to build since its debut at the Venice Film Festival in September. It’s certainly a major swing for all concerned, with the budget reaching a hefty $200m. But the original outing showed there remains a considerable hunger among audiences for work that provokes as well as entertains, and the sequel should be no less of a cultural talking point than its predecessor.

Right from the off, the phenomenal level of engagement was obvious, with the original trailer attracting no less than 164 million views in 24 hours, thus surpassing monster hit Barbie to become Warners’ biggest ever trailer premiere. As such, the runway is clear for a movie that intends to innovate and enthral.

“The question became, ‘How do we top ourselves,’” Phillips told Variety. “And you can only do that if you do something dangerous. But there were days on set where you’d look round and think, ‘Holy fucking shit! What did we do?’

“Why do something if it doesn’t scare the shit out of you? I’m addicted to risk. I mean, it keeps you up at night. It makes your hair fall out. But it’s the sweat that keeps you going.”

• Joker: Folie à Deux is in cinemas now.