The Dark Knight of the Soul…
My thoughts on “The Dark Knight”
I asked one of my friends what she thought of the latest Batman film and she responded by saying that, “It leaves you in a dark place, but in a good way.”
Since I live in my dark places most of the time, I honestly had no idea what she meant. I contend with my dark side daily; it’s a struggle. Most of the time, I am able to quiet the rabid lions but every now and then, they raise their heads and the bile roars. But, I digress. This isn’t about me; this is about Christopher Nolan’s second “Batman" film.
Picking up where “Batman Begins” left off, “The Dark Knight” continues Bruce Wayne’s journey of righting wrongs, avenging the death of his parents, and leveling the balance between order and chaos. And, it is on that note that the Clown Prince of Chaos enters. Heath Ledger’s Joker. When I heard that Heath was to play the Joker, I thought that this was a step in the right direction for this particular take on the Batman tale. Heath has always been about primal urges; his all-too-short body of work deals with undeniable urge overtaking control. With him, chaos always wins. And the Joker is no exception. Beginning his own crusade as the id to Batman’s Superego, the Joker terrorizes the good people of Gotham in a grand experiment. The question Joker asks is the essential question of the film: What would it take to push each of us over the edge?
Back to that in a moment. I realize that the buzz of this film has been Heath Ledger’s performance and it is a phenomenal performance. I would have expected nothing less from Heath. Watching him rage further and further out of control is almost bittersweet with the underlying knowledge that this was his final, completed performance. His Joker is not as dark as Jack Nicholson’s Joker and yet it is deceptive because Ledger’s Joker is far more dangerous. He is downright jolly in his murder and mayhem and taken in the context of the “real world” feel of these Batman films, that’s a frightening prospect. He destroys for the sake of destruction itself. He worships anarchy and wishes to unleash it on humanity. Ledger’s performance is as close to the truly maniacal Joker of the comics as we will probably ever see.
In all honesty, however, I do not consider his performance the truly break-out performance of this film. That honor belongs to Aaron Eckhart. Aaron has had a rather low-key career but I think this film will change that. It is his performance as Harvey Dent that tackles the film’s essential question. The “origin” story in “The Dark Knight” tops the pantheon of Gotham’s criminal element. In each of the Burton (and later, Schumacher) Batman films, there was always an “origin” story of one of the villains. Those, however, always seemed in media res. Even Selena Kyle in “Batman Returns” had a bit of a dark edge. In this film, we are allowed to see Harvey as he was before he became Two-Face and not just physically. We are amazed at his own crusade, a crusade exploited by Joker. Harvey Dent is Bruce Wayne without the cape and cowl. He is Gotham’s white knight, a crusading district attorney who believes in the power of law and order and uses same to do some good in Gotham. And when his world is shattered, he takes the path that Bruce will not. And it saddens us to watch.
Harvey Dent’s journey leads us down to that dark place. It asks the question: what would it take to push each of us over the edge? And where would that lead us? Down Joker’s path or Batman’s? I think that is the strength of this film. It allows each of us to answer the question for ourselves? Will we rush to judgment like the civilians on the one ferry or will we have the courage to do what the “criminal” did on the other ferry? Harvey Dent represents us, the law-abiding citizen witness to Christian Bale’s Batman and Heath Ledger’s Joker. And when bad things happen, who will be our guide?
The Joker gives Batman opportunity after opportunity to cross that line and Batman does not. Despite the wrestle with his own demons, Batman’s moral code wins. He once vowed, “never again,” and he holds true to it.
When Joker presents the same opportunity to Harvey, the savagely disillusioned and disfigured public servant snaps. It is Harvey that represents the everyman; it is his journey that we follow. It’s in comparison to him that we ask which way we would go.
Harvey Dent/Two-Face has been done in films before. But we never got a chance to see him transition from altruistic crusader for right into cynical agent of fury. It was fascinating to watch. And that is because of Aaron Eckhart's stunning performance.
I will confess that I was not a fan of “Batman Begins.” I thought the Ra’s Al Ghul storyline was botched and relying on the Scarecrow as the second villain was weak. (I won’t even talk about Katie Holmes’ horrible performance though I will say that Maggie Gyllenhaal was only slightly better.) I have always been a fan of the various Batman incarnations but I do have a soft-spot for him in animated form. (For real fun, check out “The Batman” animated series.) I did not see “Batman Begins” in the theater and that may have had an impact on my enjoyment level for it.
“The Dark Knight” renewed my faith in the future of the Batman cinematic franchise. And, since Christian Bale has hinted that he would not say “no” to a Justice League film, I think I can spare a few dollars to see the film again. Yes, Jeanne, I liked “The Dark Knight.”
Geek Moment = I am not a gadget-loving girl. I do not watch the Bond films because of the gadgets. But, how cool is the Batpod? Seriously? I did like the Batmobile from “BB.” Seeing the Batmobile destroyed and then seeing Batman zip out of it on the Batpod almost made me giggle with nerd-glee. That was, in a word, cool.
Post Script:
A word about Christian Bale.
I like his take on Batman. He, better than Val Kilmer and Michael Keaton, portrays the role as if Batman is the real man and Bruce Wayne is the prop. Christian is dark and yet in his eyes, you can see the noble ideal. There, I said it.
I asked one of my friends what she thought of the latest Batman film and she responded by saying that, “It leaves you in a dark place, but in a good way.”
Since I live in my dark places most of the time, I honestly had no idea what she meant. I contend with my dark side daily; it’s a struggle. Most of the time, I am able to quiet the rabid lions but every now and then, they raise their heads and the bile roars. But, I digress. This isn’t about me; this is about Christopher Nolan’s second “Batman" film.
Picking up where “Batman Begins” left off, “The Dark Knight” continues Bruce Wayne’s journey of righting wrongs, avenging the death of his parents, and leveling the balance between order and chaos. And, it is on that note that the Clown Prince of Chaos enters. Heath Ledger’s Joker. When I heard that Heath was to play the Joker, I thought that this was a step in the right direction for this particular take on the Batman tale. Heath has always been about primal urges; his all-too-short body of work deals with undeniable urge overtaking control. With him, chaos always wins. And the Joker is no exception. Beginning his own crusade as the id to Batman’s Superego, the Joker terrorizes the good people of Gotham in a grand experiment. The question Joker asks is the essential question of the film: What would it take to push each of us over the edge?
Back to that in a moment. I realize that the buzz of this film has been Heath Ledger’s performance and it is a phenomenal performance. I would have expected nothing less from Heath. Watching him rage further and further out of control is almost bittersweet with the underlying knowledge that this was his final, completed performance. His Joker is not as dark as Jack Nicholson’s Joker and yet it is deceptive because Ledger’s Joker is far more dangerous. He is downright jolly in his murder and mayhem and taken in the context of the “real world” feel of these Batman films, that’s a frightening prospect. He destroys for the sake of destruction itself. He worships anarchy and wishes to unleash it on humanity. Ledger’s performance is as close to the truly maniacal Joker of the comics as we will probably ever see.
In all honesty, however, I do not consider his performance the truly break-out performance of this film. That honor belongs to Aaron Eckhart. Aaron has had a rather low-key career but I think this film will change that. It is his performance as Harvey Dent that tackles the film’s essential question. The “origin” story in “The Dark Knight” tops the pantheon of Gotham’s criminal element. In each of the Burton (and later, Schumacher) Batman films, there was always an “origin” story of one of the villains. Those, however, always seemed in media res. Even Selena Kyle in “Batman Returns” had a bit of a dark edge. In this film, we are allowed to see Harvey as he was before he became Two-Face and not just physically. We are amazed at his own crusade, a crusade exploited by Joker. Harvey Dent is Bruce Wayne without the cape and cowl. He is Gotham’s white knight, a crusading district attorney who believes in the power of law and order and uses same to do some good in Gotham. And when his world is shattered, he takes the path that Bruce will not. And it saddens us to watch.
Harvey Dent’s journey leads us down to that dark place. It asks the question: what would it take to push each of us over the edge? And where would that lead us? Down Joker’s path or Batman’s? I think that is the strength of this film. It allows each of us to answer the question for ourselves? Will we rush to judgment like the civilians on the one ferry or will we have the courage to do what the “criminal” did on the other ferry? Harvey Dent represents us, the law-abiding citizen witness to Christian Bale’s Batman and Heath Ledger’s Joker. And when bad things happen, who will be our guide?
The Joker gives Batman opportunity after opportunity to cross that line and Batman does not. Despite the wrestle with his own demons, Batman’s moral code wins. He once vowed, “never again,” and he holds true to it.
When Joker presents the same opportunity to Harvey, the savagely disillusioned and disfigured public servant snaps. It is Harvey that represents the everyman; it is his journey that we follow. It’s in comparison to him that we ask which way we would go.
Harvey Dent/Two-Face has been done in films before. But we never got a chance to see him transition from altruistic crusader for right into cynical agent of fury. It was fascinating to watch. And that is because of Aaron Eckhart's stunning performance.
I will confess that I was not a fan of “Batman Begins.” I thought the Ra’s Al Ghul storyline was botched and relying on the Scarecrow as the second villain was weak. (I won’t even talk about Katie Holmes’ horrible performance though I will say that Maggie Gyllenhaal was only slightly better.) I have always been a fan of the various Batman incarnations but I do have a soft-spot for him in animated form. (For real fun, check out “The Batman” animated series.) I did not see “Batman Begins” in the theater and that may have had an impact on my enjoyment level for it.
“The Dark Knight” renewed my faith in the future of the Batman cinematic franchise. And, since Christian Bale has hinted that he would not say “no” to a Justice League film, I think I can spare a few dollars to see the film again. Yes, Jeanne, I liked “The Dark Knight.”
Geek Moment = I am not a gadget-loving girl. I do not watch the Bond films because of the gadgets. But, how cool is the Batpod? Seriously? I did like the Batmobile from “BB.” Seeing the Batmobile destroyed and then seeing Batman zip out of it on the Batpod almost made me giggle with nerd-glee. That was, in a word, cool.
Post Script:
A word about Christian Bale.
I like his take on Batman. He, better than Val Kilmer and Michael Keaton, portrays the role as if Batman is the real man and Bruce Wayne is the prop. Christian is dark and yet in his eyes, you can see the noble ideal. There, I said it.
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