Joker - Foliè a Deux talks about the theme of the double, the contrast, or presumed such, between Arthur Fleck and Joker and the legacy of the latter on a social level, therefore on the population and on the consequences of such acts and what entails.
This brings to mind the current socio-political situation in the States, the character of the Joker becomes an idol for a segment of the population, hence the parallel between the assault on Capitol Hill and the one on the court that takes place in the film.

Jokers like Trump have taken hold of extreme segments of citizens who react with acts of delinquency.

Therefore the film questions whether Arthur is the victim of the Joker and of the extremism of the crowd he created, who wants the Joker, wants that character.

To show the theme of the double, Phillips shows many shots of Arthur from monitors, there are many TVs which show Arthur's interviews as well as the court monitors and this also serves to give the concept of the media's conveyance, what they show, what reaches the population.

Above all, the sequence of Paddy Mayers' interview with Arthur with alternating close-ups between Arthur in the courthouse and between the monitors/TV.

Lady Gaga's character, Lee, is the one who most of all instigates Arthur to show himself as Joker and to act like one, the musical scenes, when the love story between the two starts, are more colorful and also "rhythmic" as a basic idea, even if Phillips is not very comfortable with create really give that sense of wild and crazy moments.

The whole film, however, is always pervaded by a dramatic and melancholy note that reflects Arthur's state and consequently even the musical scenes will be progressively more "sad" ".

The staging of the film is careful, Phillips' direction aims to be authorial while biting off more than he can chew, the director is not an author, he doesn't have the strength, in fact, does not have a truly precise and strong gaze on the socio-political situation that is created but neither does it have real personal touches.

 Phillips has an excessively pompous hand, in the sense that he aims, tries to emphasizing too much, overloads various situations and reiterates many moments.
The close-ups on Phoenix are too insistent, try to rely on the actor, on his expressions just as forcing to show Phoenix's emaciated physique can create easy shock for a more casual, generalist spectator but an author should not resort to such easy and even banal choices.

So even slow motion, as written, the direction is excessively pompous especially for the type of film and for the drama he would like to tell.

Yes, there are long shots that show technique but in certain situations this technique seems a bit an end in itself and not worthy of a collective vision of the film as a whole , of what he wants to narrate. They serve more to show Phillips' "muscles" and to pump everything up even more, like the long shot of Arthur in prison.

At times it's always there a bit, Also in this case Arthur is a bit of a victim of everything, he is a victim of the prison warders, he is a victim of the crowd that he himself created, he is a victim of the Joker's shadow.

Phillips in some moments he also tries to insert images that would like to tell such as the two Jokers chasing Arthur, a scene that can also be seen in the trailer, which would mean the shadow of the Joker, what he created that chases Arthur, or some moments of the musicals that start in black with the expanding point of light showing how Lee is his light, his reason for living.

But the direction doesn't have the strength to really give consistency to the film.

The pace of the film in fact also appears bland, yes, this should be contextualized with Arthur's melancholy but at times the whole thing drags on a little forcefully with the addition, and aggravating, of those pompous moments, reiterations that weigh everything down.

Even the emphasis on Arthur's laughter is a somewhat revisable choice.

The symbol that becomes an icon , remaining a victim of this and a society that is perpetually looking for idols, as the ending also shows, Arthur and Joker are perhaps one and the same, there is no real double personality but not for the crowd who instead wants the Joker and not he is minimally interested in Arthur, in what he has been through, in his tragedies and his pains.

Film which also has cinematic aims with the audience therefore wanting it, it requires certain things but obviously this also extends to socio-political level with citizens who want a leader who says certain words and the media who does the same.
Trump, Fox News show, they chase this type of crowd.

As written, the problem is that Phillips is unable to delve who knows how far into the socio-political situation, he doesn't have the strength and that his management of the film is a bit bombastic, too loaded, emphatic with easy and reiterated choices.<2 >

Furthermore, Lee's character isn't even explored or explored much in depth and is therefore also superficial.