Batman completes The Joker, or is it the other way around?
Early on in The Dark Night, the sequel to writer/director Christopher Nolan’s 2005 Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) tells his associate Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) he needs a new suit. “The three-button look is a bit ’90s, but…,” says Fox. “I was thinking something a little less fashion and a little more function,” Wayne interjects. The exchange sets a perfect analogy for the rest of the film. In this Gotham City, our heroes can’t just look the part, they must be ready to fully commit to the responsibilities of their choices, and sometimes those choices require a function they hadn’t counted on.
Every aspect of The Dark Knight operates in a real world with real problems, real stakes and very real outcomes. There is no fantasy in this Gotham City. All the glamor and posh of the old Batman films is quickly forgotten in Nolan’s Gotham. And if you’re curious what I mean, look no further than George Clooney’s rubber nipples. The Dark Knight grips you from its opening bank heist scene and doesn’t let go till the final scene where all is understood and its title brings new understanding to a timeless character. Indeed, many elements of this may reshape the way we look at characters many of us have known or thought we knew since childhood.
The film looks to quickly ground the city of Gotham in a reality where the citizens are balancing precariously on the edge of a knife. A knife held by a terrorist called The Joker (Heath Ledger). It’s no surprise, then, when The Joker explains why he prefers knives over the kill a gun brings. He savors the kill. He relishes in the final moments of his victims’ last breaths. But more than anything, he explains, he finds that people show their real colors when all is lost. Rest assured, people will die in this film – many of whom aren’t minor characters. As a result, the film looks at the decisions one must make when faced with the death of a loved one or the preservation of a society so seeped in corruption one must ask is it really worth fighting for in the first place. Making that decision will determine what side of the line that person stands on. The Dark Knight shows even with a hero’s best intentions, outcomes can be construed to suit a madman’s whims. Even the white knights can turn dark, and in the dark we can find our only hope for salvation.
People will be talking for months of Ledger’s portrayal of The Joker and deservedly so. He wholly commits himself to the role. Not once in the movie do I see a semblance of Ledger at all. From the way he smacks his lips between sentences, to his hunched near-limp of a walk, to the way he annunciates and punctuates the everyman American accent he uses is a historic performance. Everyone’s going to tell you about his magic trick, but I loved every line Ledger delivers in this film. I couldn’t wait to see The Joker on screen next. D.C. may have to reinvent their own vision of The Joker as a result of this film. This is a man with no social values, no regard for the sentimental and definitely no redeeming value whatsoever. The Joker follows through with every threat. When it looks like he’s going to kill, he does. Yet, he’ll disappear periodically only to reappear to commit more destruction. I couldn’t wait to see what he’d do next, yet afraid at the same time. Ledger’s Joker is no joke at all, he believes in what he’s doing and he wants to be taken seriously. When he does joke he’s the only one laughing which I think is completely appropriate for The Joker. He doesn’t flinch to tell people how he got his scars, yet the story changes every time. This is the quintessential Joker. And if Ledger gets a posthumous Oscar, it would only be because he deserved the award regardless.
It would be unfair to say the performance worth seeing in this film is Ledger’s, but it is a big part of it.
I’ve heard some pundits stating Christian Bale’s performance is bland and too deadpan. I can’t agree. Bale is almost given too much to work with in this film. He has the daunting task of playing three roles: The role of Bruce Wayne, the man that only his closest friends know – Alfred (Michael Caine), Rachel Dawes and Lucius, Batman – the symbol the corrupt fear, and the Bruce Wayne the world at large knows – an egocentric playboy. In his private times with the people he trusts, Bale’s conflicted portrayal of Wayne shows a man who’s fed up with the decisions he’s made to protect the city, yet he knows he cannot concede. He will do what he must to ensure the tragedies of his past won’t be repeated however many sacrifices must be made. It’s no easy decision to make, and a decision that no one should have to make. Yet, Bale brings emotions to this role I haven’t seen him bring to roles he’s played in the past including his first go with Wayne. It’s heroic and heartbreaking all at once.
Yet the true heartbreak in this film is the inevitable downfall of Gotham’s proclaimed white knight, Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart). Eckhart has shown he deserves his spot among Hollywood’s A-lists. His role as Gotham’s District Attorney turned villain is nothing short of a Greek tragedy much like the one he talks about at a dinner party regarding Caesar and the fall of Rome (the one that’s making all the trailers) : “You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” In the past, most Batman films have worked on the gimmick of the new villain being introduced. Not to say we weren’t dying to see Ledger’s portrayal of The Joker, but in The Dark Knight you dread Dent’s eventual transformation into Two-Face. There’s a scene in the film when Eckhart is in a hospital bed and he’s having a conversation with the Commissioner that will truly give you a start. I actually heard a woman sitting next to me gasp in fright when the line was delivered. That’s when you know you’ve done something special. When every member of the audience is waiting on baited breath to hear what you have to say next and the line delivered literally makes you gasp in terror, you know this guy’s for real.
The moniker of supporting role has never been so true. It’s pretty impressive how Nolan assembled pretty much a dream team of seasoned actors to make up Batman’s right-hand men. Gordon, Alfred and Fox are all given pivotal roles in the story and it’s really interesting to see which direction Nolan went with their arches. When I first heard back in 2005, Nolan had chosen Gary Oldman for the role of Jim Gordon, I was sold on Bat Begins. In DK my admiration for Oldman was maintained. Nolan gives Oldman some very good material to work with in this film. There’s a great scene where having just come off a couple really long days, Gordon is talking with his son late one night. I noticed a Hans Zimmer melody from Begins that hadn’t been used until that moment in DK, and it was spot on perfect as it recollected a very similar scene from Begins that I had really enjoyed. I barely contained myself from bawling like a baby. We really get some great backstory from Caine’s Alfred this time which actually adds a lot of depth to the story, and reinforces the father-figure role to which he plays, always being there to offer advice if asked. Freeman’s role with Fox is probably the most interesting of dynamics in the film. Fox is given many tasks to accomplish, and I love how Nolan really uses Fox as kind of the ground for decrypting some of the biggest FAQs in Batman mythology like how Batman keeps his secret identity in the real world or what ethical questions a desperate superhero must address.
If there was any question whether casting Maggie Gyllenhaal in place of Katie Holmes for the role of Rachel Dawes was a bad choice, I’d like to be the first to say that person should be taken into an alleyway and silenced. Gyllenhaal is a terrific actress and deserves a spot on the A-list as well. Holmes is quickly forgotten as having ever had anything to do with the role. Gyllenhaal brings a pulse to her character and delivers each of her lines with a terrific amount of class and wit. Her scenes are fun and interesting to watch as her character’s role affects the other characters and the story overall.
The only thing that could’ve made this film better would’ve been if Batman extended his hand out of the screen and said, “I want you to come with me on this journey.” Outside of that, there are very few faults with this film. Some critics have said that Nolan doesn’t know how to film the brilliantly choreographed fight scenes in this film. They may be right, but the one’s I was looking forward to the most – the showdowns (and there are plenty) with The Joker – are filmed beautifully. The only fault I can give Nolan is writing a story so good, I can’t see how he can follow it up with something as good or where the hell he can possibly take this story. I’ve been wracking my head about it for the last couple of days, and I’m no better off thinking of a third chapter than I was when I was thinking how The Dark Knight could possibly top Batman Begins.
This isn’t only the best comic book movie – wait scratch that – this isn’t a comic book movie at all, this is a graphic novel movie. Okay, so not only is this the greatest graphic novel-to-film movie I’ve ever seen, this is the best film I’ve seen so far in 2008. Hands down. Mark my words, this movie will have multiple nominations for it, namely Best Supporting Actor – Ledger, Best Screenplay – Christoper and Jonathan Nolan, Best Cinematography – Wally Pfister and Best Picture of 2008.
Make no mistake, this is true cinema in its most artistic form.
Do I even need to give this one a grade?…..Okay: A+
There, I said it.
