The new ‘Joker’ debuted in Venice last week to mixed reviews. Some criticism is that the film is dull — first and foremost — because Gaga is sidelined and underused. Reviewing probably eight commentaries, no critic suggests that Gaga herself isn’t magnificent in ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’, opening in US theaters the first week in October.

With all the fan-related resources Gaga brings to her role as the psychologist turned turned villain in ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’, it seems totally plausible that Gaga’s unusually-fine mind and empathetic persona — combined with years of deep connection to those who view life through the lens of Gaga’s own — have armed her with the capacity to make the most of Harley Quinn’s crossing over to the ‘other side’.

Jonathan Van Meter interviews Gaga, sharing his initial impressions of the star in 2010:

The first time I laid eyes on her in December 2010, she was barefoot, covered in fake blood, mascara running down her face, wearing a robe made of voluminous red feathers—like a cross between Alice Cooper and Big Bird, I wrote. She was dressed like a lunatic and—you guessed it—behaving like one. On another occasion—in another astounding frock, hair in a Bride-of-Frankenstein updo—she had on shoes that made her feet look like they were screwed on backward and brought her up to nearly my height . . .