Phoenix gives one of his best performances to date, giving Arthur a newfound tenderness as he quickly falls in love with Lee and spirals back into insanity on Joker: Folie à Deux Soap2Day. From the beginning, there is an explosive chemistry between them, but fittingly, the flame wanes as their utopian fantasy fades. References to elements of this scale's predecessor that are now firmly established in popular culture are necessary for a successor. Joker: Whether it's a musical piece at the made-up comic club Pogo's or a blood-splattered depiction of Murray in the hilarious opening animated sequence, Folie à Deux does this nicely and fairly subtly. The Oscar-winning music by Hildur Guðnadóttir, which is still hauntingly vibrant, is maybe the most important of all the callbacks.
