If “Joker: Folie à Deux” showed us anything, it’s that there can be blissful magic even when two sociopaths fall in love. Consider the romantic sparks that fly in the Todd Phillips film when Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) and Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga) share a fiery first kiss moments after she sets a room ablaze during a screening of the 1953 musical “The Band Wagon.” “As a single frame, the image is symbolic to the tone of the whole movie,” says cinematographer Lawrence Sher. “We love mixing complementary colors, and the cyan and warm hues have visual elements that are part of the original film, but we’re also leading you into the musical side of this film when Lady Gaga begins to sing.” Sher illuminated the scene by hiding a digital projector underneath a working prop 16mm projector. A hole was cut to let the beam of light shine through and a mirror was placed at the base to split the beam into smoky rays of blue light. Flame bars created the dancing firestorm behind the characters, augmented by practical visual effects from the actual burning of a replica set. A subtle camera push heightens the alluring atmosphere that paints a portrait of quintessential Joker: juxtaposing beauty with anarchy. Now that’s entertainment.
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