Francis Ford Coppola will forever be a legend because of his work on The Godfather films and Apocalypse Now, but he’s recently been receiving some bashing with the release of his passion project Megalopolis.
Joker: Folie a Deux has also been getting the same kind of online hate that Megalopolis received, and Coppola has decided to reach out in solidarity with director Todd Phillips.
Francis Ford Coppola Congratulates Joker 2
In a recent post on his IG, Coppola shared how he has been a fan of Phillips since his work on The Hangover, and talks about enjoying the latest Joker film. Here’s his post:
The caption reads:
“@ToddPhillips films always amaze me and I enjoy them thoroughly. Ever since the wonderful “The Hangover” he’s always one step ahead of the audience never doing what they expect. Congratulations to Joker: Folie à Deux!
“I am also honored that the films DP, Lawrence Sher, mentioned that the film is visually inspired by ‘One From the Heart’”
Coppola also shared this meme on his stories:
With Megalopolis not being received that well, and also getting heavily bashed online, some people are saying that Coppola’s endorsement of the movie is not the win that a lot of people think it is. But so far, Phillips has liked the post, and it seems that neither director is apologetic for the films they released, despite the vitriol.
Megalopolis v Joker
Admittedly, the reactions to both Megalopolis and Joker: Folie a Deux do feel the same, but there are certainly some differences in crowd reactions. Both are touted as very passionate and personal projects by both directors, but whereas Megalopolis has mostly been bashed since it was released, Folie a Deux has been receiving some staunch defenders claiming that a lot of the negative reactions to the film are just from audience members who ‘didn’t get it.’
Despite the early backlash, some claim that Joker: Folie a Deux still had a very solid message and theme that it executed as intended, and the negative reaction was something that the film was always expecting to have. Though the first movie had touted Joker as this mythical hero of anarchy; Folie a Deux breaks this down and makes Arthur reject the persona to embrace himself—much to the chagrin of Harley Quinn, who is considered to be the stand-in for audiences who idolize the Joker character.
Compared to Megalopolis though, its only defense seems to be that Coppola is an old auteur and he should be allowed to make whatever film he wants; plus, his goal was never really to earn money, so it doesn’t matter if audiences liked it or not. He did fund the whole project personally.
Folie a Deux: Misunderstood Madness?
For now, fans are just waiting to see how the perception will change on Folie a Deux over time. Some suggest the reactions are just loud for now since the twist in expectations was such a sharp turn and it led to some very emotional takes.
After a second viewing and maybe some time, some think that Joker: Folie a Deux will be recognized as an interesting meta-narrative that perfectly closes the book on Arthur Fleck’s story.
Joker: Folie a Deux is now showing in theaters.