Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) – AKA Joker – is awaiting trial for murder in a psychiatric ward; it promises to be a sensation, whipping fellow inmates into a frenzy of anticipation and support for the celebrity in their midst. Redemption for the tortured comic arrives in the unlikely form of Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga), who has voluntarily committed herself to the facility’s musical therapy programme, and with whom sparks immediately fly. Dismissing his lawyer (Catherine Keener), Fleck chooses to represent himself, the ensuing courtroom theatrics being interspersed with spectacular musical numbers, real and imagined, as Harley must decide whether she is in love with timid Arthur or his anarchic alter-ego. Avoiding the pitfalls of most sequels, Todd Phillips has wisely created something entirely different, a courtroom-drama-musical, whilst probing further into the twisted psyche of his protagonist.

Notes by David O Mahony