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7/21/2008
by Scott Cupper
Batman/Bruce Wayne................Christian Bale
The Joker.........................Heath Ledger
Harvey Dent.......................Aaron Eckhart
Lt. Gordon........................Gary Oldman
Rachel Dawes......................Maggie Gyllenhaal
Alfred............................Michael Caine
Lucius Fox........................Morgan Freeman
Written by Christopher & Jonathan Nolan
Story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Rated PG-13
Runtime: 2 hrs. 32 mins.
Any review of The Dark Knight must begin with Heath Ledger’s performance as The Joker. I expected him to be great, but I was not prepared for just how good he is. He makes an amazing choice in every single scene. The inevitable backlash has already begun, and yes there are tics and lip-licking and a weird voice, but these are decorations, flourishes, that come from somewhere. To hear The Joker explain that Batman needs him is to see the heart of this character. Ledger’s performance is terrifying. And funny. That was what surprised me most. At no point does it seem The Joker actually believes he has a sense of humor. He is a monster, but Heath Ledger is able to show there is great pain in this character without the script giving him the opportunity to explicitly state this. Amazing.
So, the movie. It is dark. Oppressive at times. But it is excellent. Batman has become what he wanted to be, a symbol, but it’s been lost in translation. Copycats dressed like him in hockey pads are trying to fight crime. He wonders whether he has done more harm than good. Things are not much better for Bruce Wayne. Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) has a new boyfriend, the new DA Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). But this man whom Bruce harbors jealousy of quickly presents himself as a potential savior, a “White Knight” able to rid the crime in the daylight and allow Bruce to hang up his cape and cowl forever.
Enter The Joker. From where? We don’t know. He simply arrives on the scene, pulsating with a lust for chaos. He has been aligning himself with various mobs, but sets his sights on Batman, or more specifically, Batman’s identity. How to go about getting it? Kill people. At that point, all the major players (Batman, Lt. Gordon, Harvey Dent, and Rachel Dawes) are forced to focus on him. This pursuit entwines them and leads them to places both physical and mental none of them could have expected.
Christopher Nolan deserves all the credit for the film’s success. His casting decisions (remember when no one wanted Heath Ledger?) are perfect. The script (written by he and his brother, Jonathan) is novelistic in its scope and themes. The stunts, at least the majority, are real and awe-inspiring. He even learns from his mistakes: The fight scenes are much cleaner and more fluid, the result of longer takes from a camera that is further from the action.
I do have one minor quibble: the court room scene with the gun is so bad as to not even feel like it’s in this movie. I honestly thought a character was going to wake up from a dream.
This aside, well, Christopher Nolan has realized in my mind the perfect Batman movie.
Monday, July 21, 2008
The Dark Knight
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4 comments:
I had the exact same reaction to the courtroom scene. Eckhart does this ridiculous wide-eyed double take when the bad guy on the stand tries to take the fall for Eric Roberts. I think that's the first time we see Harvey Dent in action and I have to say even though he eventually won me back I was a little nervous that we were going to have another Katie Holmes on our hands...
Speaking of, I was really excited when I heard Maggie Gyllenhaal was going to be replaceing Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes - as much for the fact that Holmes just did not fit into that world (regardless of her actual age she seemed far too young first of all, but also (and more importantly) when you're working with Bale and Caine you better freaking be able to bring it because they'll wipe the floor with you without even trying) but also because I appreciated that they were bringing the character back in the first place. Often, in not just superhero movies, but most action series in general, the "girlfriend" role is just a revolving door of "hot" actresses who are there to be rescued and be pretty - they aren't actual characters so much as eye candy and an excuse for the hero to get geared up at some point enough to save her. Because he loves her. This woman who will not exist in anyway shape or form in the next film. I had hopes for the Dawes character because I generally think Gyllenhaal is a pretty strong actress (of course I'm mostly basing this off Secretary which I loved) but I ended up not really liking her at all. Whether it's the writing, the nature of the part, or the actress in the role herself I don't know, I'd have to see it again with a more critical eye, but it seemed like a wasted side story - one that should have had greater impact than it did (for me anyway) having known this character from the last film. When she was gone both Bale and Eckhart did an excellent job of letting that loss feed their actions but... I personally didn't feel the loss of that character nowhere near the way I did when we thought Gordon bit it.
I think the best thing an actor can do (especially a movie star) is to disappear into a role so much so that you forget the actor entirely and just see the character. Ledger has done this twice that I've seen (Brokeback and now this). As you've mentioned, all the layers are there without a word having been said - the ticks don't come off as mannered, they don't feel like "this is an actor making a choice to do this this and this to show you how disturbed he is" - everything felt fully ingrained and true and it was really a joy to watch that kind of immersive acting.
Christian Bale is another one who does this. You know me - I'm a big fan. Even when I don't particularly like the films he's in I always really appreciate what he's doing in them. We've been talking about American Psycho a little bit - I would suggest watching that movie and then looking at how he plays Bruce Wayne. I think a lesser actor would have borrowed some things from that previous role but he doesn't go anywhere near it even though there are some surface similarities.
I was prepared to be kind of ambivalent about Bale's performance because it seemed clear that this movie wasn't going to be about him, but surprisingly, it was - more so than I would have expected. I love the fact that Batman is not interesting at all, but Bruce is. Buce is still who I see when the cowl is on and the "voice" is being used, and the desperation to get out of a prison of his own making, the weariness, the actual physical and emotional toll clearly evident, the yearning to win back the girl and have a normal life, the crushing realization that Batman is all he'll ever be able to be now was just elegantly played throughout. I think it's a shame actually that his performance it pretty much being overlooked entirely, but I have to say it's not unexpected - It's kind of taken for granted that he's great.
They've been teasing us with the prospect of a third, and though these types of movies haven't been too successful with the final film in the trilogy recently (umm... X3 X3 X3!!! and Spiderman) I have to admit I'm salivating for it. I want Catwoman. I've never cared about her one way or another but in Nolan's world? Hell yes. He doesn't have the best track record for picking the right actresses in my opinion but where he's left Batman (and more importantly Bruce) I would love to see how that plays out...
"... I personally didn't feel the loss of that character nowhere near the way I did when we thought Gordon bit it."
Anywhere near. Not "nowhere" - that is some bad english there... :).
It's a scene from a Frank Capra movie, whom I love, but it don't belong here (how's that for English!).
SPOILERS!!!!
I just watched Batman Begins again, and while I was never a Katie Holmes hater, I now must admit she wasn't very good. As for Maggie and her role within the movie, I feel her strength was in creating real relationships with these two men. I don't know that, fortunately or unfortunately, she was required to do more than that.
As for feeling the loss of Gordon much more (and by the way, Gary Oldman's another dude who's not getting enough props), I think that's the "fault" of the movie. Spielberg has spoken about his disppointment that the reveal of Jaws doesn't quite get the reaction he had hoped because he scared everyone earlier when Brody and Hooper are diving and a head pops out of a bite hole in a boat. I think think Gordon's "death" took the wind out of the sails for Rachels'. It also doesn't help that Gordon comes back so we're not really sure whether -- Good heavens! You don't think she could come back as Catwoman, do you? I just think it's strange that once she's offscreen, nothing is done with her. We only see the building she's in explode from the outside (to prevent an R rating?) and there's no funeral or anything. It's almost like she never existed. Anyway, it's highly unlikely, but it just came to me.
I do think that Catwoman will be in the next picture. Batman Begins sets up escalation as the next movie's theme and this one sets up Batman as fugitive and I think Catwoman would fit nicely into that. Also, without Rachel, I can't see another woman coming into the picture. I'm guessing that they'll develop some sort of relationship and let's say...The Riddler will be the baddie.
Whoops! I suppose I should have put a Spoiler warning before my last post...
You're totally right - Oldman's another one who's awesomness is taken for granted over and over again. And yes, you've hit it - his "death" does detract from Rachel's quite a bit.
Personally, I think it would be awesome if Rachel did come back as Catwoman. I have no idea how that would work (especially since "Selena Kyle" is an established character while "Rachel Dawes" was a creation of the film's universe (altho who's to say she couldn't take on that persona?)). I think dramatically (if done the right way and sidestepping the inherent soapiness of it) it could be really interesting... Altho with Dent you've already explored the idea of personal (and physical) tragedy twisting someone into something else entirely so it may be too much "been there done that", plus the fact that I can't see that character as a cat burgler... Altho I would relish that reveal and what it would do to Bruce to know that yet another decision that he has made for the greater good has come back around again to bite him. He didn't create the Joker, but in this world if it were Rachel he very well could have created her.
I am very obviously talking out of my ass here and haven't thought any of it through but I think the only real way to have that cat and mouse dance have any real emotional relevance was if it was a character like Rachel, who has that relationship with the hero and who has, essentially, been betrayed (no matter if it was necessary). I do have to say as unimpressed as I was with her overall performance (I think mostly, for me, it was a lack of chemistry with both of the men - I believed she had relationships with both, but they didn't necessarily feel romantic in nature... Now that I think about it I don't think I've noticed Christian Bale having real honest-to-God chemistry with any actress apart from Winona Ryder in Little Women which, surprisingly, has one of the more heartbreaking scenes of unrequited love I can think of. This could be though, that he tends to be in very male-centered films - that idea of Man Alone seems to appeal to him so maybe that's why.)I loved that moment where she realizes that they aren't coming for her, that they chose Harvey. That little, "oh". I loved how surprised she was, but also how, for the most part, at peace she was with the decision. Which would be problematic in the Catwoman area... I don't know. I like entertaining the possibility even if it isn't really viable... I just want Catwoman's appearance in the films to mean more to Batman and Bruce Wayne than a new nemisis who happens to be female and a seductress - That femme fatale slant fits right in there - especially more so in Nolan's world and I want it to be tragic and awesome if it's going to happen...
Which I think it has to - after all, there was that line about "cat's claws" and the Batsuit that was as much an anvil as you can get ;)
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