Joker: Folie Deux (Score from the Original Motion PictureSoundtrack) reteams composer Hildur Gunadttir with writer /director / producer Todd Phillips following their collaboration onthe latters 2019 blockbuster Joker, which earned more than$1 billion at the global box office and an Academy Award,Golden Globe, GRAMMY and BAFTA award for Gunadttir.For Phillips, the decision to bring her back to compose themusic for Joker: Folie Deux was an easy one.
He had this tosay: There was no version of this film where we werent callingHildur to do the score.
I think her music is basically the secondbiggest character in the first film. Joaquin Phoenix, who plays Arthur Fleck, reflects on the impactGunadttirs music had on his performance, noting, Hildursscore was a huge part of the first film, and really thedevelopment of certain parts of the character; I think I found thecharacter while listening to her music on set, with film rolling.And that's a really special feeling, any time something comesalive in that way, and to have it captured on film.
From thatmoment, I felt like the character and Hildurs music were veryclosely tied together. For her part, Gunadttir was excited by the new challengesthis film created.
The theme for Arthur took on a new role and tocapture this, she invented a new instrument.
Arthurs theme islike a thread of sound that goes in many different scenes, tryingto find its place, like what Arthur is going through in this film.Hes trying to find his place between reality and fantasy, Arthurand Joker, being in love or being made a fool of.
The soundworld we had before [on Joker] was very string-based, and Istarted imagining Arthur in the prison and how I could take thatsound world and turn it into a prison, really make this confinedspace out of strings.
I worked with instrument builders fromIceland to help me build what I call a string prison, whichconsisted of very long strings that are strung through a spaceforming a prison.
I used a trench cello to play through the stringprison, where Arthur is held captive by the sound of the strings,and bring this sense of joy married with claustrophobia in thishorrific situation.