Paul Schrader, the celebrated writer of Taxi Driver and an accomplished filmmaker, expressed his strong disapproval of Joker: Folie à Deux in a recent interview. The Todd Phillips musical drama, which starred Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, received negative reviews and became the biggest box office disappointment of the year. In a conversation with Interview magazine, Paul revealed that he could only endure about 20 minutes of the film before leaving the theater to buy something. He then returned, watched a bit more, and decided he had seen enough.
Schrader criticized Todd Phillips’ sequel, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, calling it “a really bad musical.” He elaborated, “I don’t like either of those people. I don’t like them as actors. I don’t like them as characters. I don’t like the whole thing. I mean, those are people who, if they came to your house, you’d slip out the back door.”
Joker: Folie à Deux, one of the most anticipated films of the year, proved to be a major letdown at the US and global box offices. The film, featuring Joaquin Phoenix as Joker and Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, directed by Todd Phillips, was released on October 4. It grossed $37.8 million during its opening weekend but experienced a significant decline by the second weekend. Additionally, it received a D rating from CinemaScore and suffered from poor word of mouth.
Paul Schrader’s latest film, Oh Canada, premiered at the New York Film Festival. Based on the 2021 novel Foregone by Russell Banks, it stars Richard Gere, Uma Thurman, and Jacob Elordi.
