Quentin Tarantino 'Really Liked'Joker: Folie à Deux: Joaquin Phoenix Gave 'One of the Best Performances I've Ever Seen'

Mar. 15, 2025

Quentin Tarantino; Joaquin Phoenix as Joker.Photo:Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage; Niko Tavernise/Warner Bros. Pictures

Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage; Niko Tavernise/Warner Bros. Pictures

ForQuentin Tarantino,Joaquin Phoenixis no joke.

“I really, really liked it, really. A lot. Like, tremendously,” the Oscar-winning filmmaker said on the Tuesday, Oct. 29 episode ofThe Bret Easton Ellis Podcast.

Joaquin Phoenix in Joker: Folie a Deux.Niko Tavernise

Niko Tavernise

“As much as [2019’sJoker] was indebted toTaxi Driver, this seems pretty f—ing indebted toNatural Born Killers,” said Tarantino. “That’s theNatural Born KillersI would have dreamed of seeing.”

Calling the original film “one-note,” he added that Phoenix gave “one of the best performances I’ve ever seen in my life” inFolie à Deux.

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He also appeared to enjoy thatFolie à Deuxisa movie musical, saying, “I really liked the musical sequences. I got really caught up. I thought the more banal the songs were, the better they were. I find myself listening to the lyrics of ‘For Once in My Life’ in a way I never have before.”

Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix in the Joker: Folie A Deux.Niko Tavernise

Plus, theOnce Upon a Time… in Hollywooddirector was able to “laugh without bothering everybody” in an almost empty theater to his heart’s content. “I know I’m laughing at scenes that other people wouldn’t be laughing at… I thought it was really funny.”

While the originalJokergrossed over $1 billion globally and earned Phoenix a lead actor Oscar, its sequel has earned roughly $60 million domestically and $200 million worldwide so far.

Joker: Folie à Deuxis in theaters now.

source: people.com