- Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
For my inaugural post, it's only fitting to review the biggest movie of the year, the record breaker that is The Dark Knight. So, here goes.
We haven’t heard from Batman since 2005. Before that, it was 1997. When Christopher Nolan took over the franchise, it was obvious he had plans for a bit of an overhaul. Batman Begins was hailed as a reboot of the legendary superhero saga, when in terms of the storylines, it was indeed a prequel. Nolan had stated that it had no connection to any of the Burton/Schumaker films. However, there was no stopping the loyal fan from making this connection, and comparison. Batman Begins did respectable box office business and was a decent movie. But everyone knew what it was for. They knew its purpose. Batman Begins was merely a prelude, a warm-up.
Now, since Begins was a success, everyone was clamoring for another Batman movie. Once one was announced, then those interested in the movie started their ritual speculation. Who would be the villain? Who would play them? Who would be returning? Which other characters would be used? All of these questions would be answered over time. Of course, it was almost a given that Christian Bale would be returning as the Caped Crusader, and this was confirmed early on. Then, Christopher Nolan announced the inevitable. The villain. When you think of Batman villains, you can name a few. But, when you ask many people to make that list, nine times out of ten, the same name will top them all. When it was announced that the Joker would be the villain, everyone knew the stage was set. Then came the big question. Who would play him? A lot of loyalists of the 1989 film said it doesn’t matter who would play the new Joker, because there’s no topping Jack. In fact, they are right. However, not because Jack Nicholson was unbeatable. It just for the fact that Nolan took the new Joker in such a drastically different direction that the two were incomparable. This led to the bombshell to end all bombshells. Heath Ledger would be playing the Joker.
When asked why he chose Heath Ledger for the role, Christopher Nolan said it was because he was fearless. I remember reading the confirmation of Ledger as the Joker and being so upset that I planned to boycott the film. Many of my friends knew this, as I made it as public as possible. For many months, I kept my word. I thought Heath would be terrible and was an abysmal casting choice. There aren’t enough eggs in the world to match the amount on my face when I saw the first teaser in August of last year. I heard him speaking, and that psychotic cackle that the Joker must have, and I was hooked. Heath Ledger converted me with a single laugh. So, having heard this, I was pumped. Trailers would be released, only making it worse. July 18, 2008 was the Batman fan’s equivalent of Christmas Day.
Of course, the story of this film is Heath Ledger. Having tragically passed away months before this film’s release, all eyes were on him. This is with good reason. Ledger breathes new life into the Clown Prince of Mayhem. For the first time in quite a long time, as I was viewing the film, I found myself thinking about what the Joker was doing when he wasn’t on screen. Every time the Joker left the screen, I was waiting for more. This is the power of an actor that only shines through once in a while. Ledger was in rare form in this film. Instead of the cartoony, laughable Joker that Nicholson was, Heath was psychotic, but not laughable. They were both delightfully insane. However, the difference between the two is that it seemed clear that Ledger’s Joker knew that he was nuts. He accepted it. He had fun with it. Throughout the film, The Joker kills many people. Nothing too shocking, it’s the Joker. We know it’s coming. However, the way Ledger played the character, he made killing people look like fun, because it was clear how much fun the Joker was having. The Joker was humorous, but not over the top. He didn’t make jokes like his name suggests. His humor stemmed from how psychotic he was, and how he chose to exhibit this psychopathic nature. Many audience members found themselves chuckling at the glee the Joker got out of killing someone. This wasn’t the Joker trying to be funny. It was the Joker doing his thing, while eliciting a humorous response. I don’t know what his combined screen time was, so let’s say an hour. For those 60 minutes, Heath Ledger provided a brilliant seminar on acting to perfection.
Christian Bale was actually the weakest link in the cast. He was a perfect casting choice as billionaire Bruce Wayne. He has that pretty boy, rich guy look. He can act like an upper-crust stiff. However, Bale’s Batman left a bad taste in my mouth. What truly irked me was the voice. His growling, snarling voice was a bit too much. It interfered with his speech and showed that he was trying to hard to be frightening. It didn’t frighten, it annoyed. I believe that no actor has truly nailed the character of Bruce Wayne/Batman. Some have played one part better than the other. They could be a great Batman but a bad Bruce Wayne and vice versa. While Christian Bale was not bad by any stretch, he just was behind the pack in terms of performances.
The smaller roles, such as Harvey Dent and James Gordon were interesting. Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent was a marvel. My favorite Batman film is Batman Forever. This film featured Tommy Lee Jones as Harvey Dent/Two Face. He was perfect, for what they intended for the character. The Batman movies are all about unfair comparisons. Since so many actors have played Batman, they were all going to be inevitably compared to one another. Now that the films are being redone, we are seeing different incarnations of the villains as well. Without fail, comparisons are going to be made, and I myself am guilty. Tommy Lee Jones will forever be Two Face to me. However, he is no longer Harvey Dent. The way Nolan chose to use Dent was very interesting. He portrayed him as a likable guy. A politician, but he could also be that uncle who gives you money every time he visits. That’s why the public loves him so much. He’s charismatic, and very savvy when it comes to the criminal element. This makes him the perfect criminal when he turns to Two Face. It’s no secret that Harvey Dent becomes Two Face in this film. My only disappointment is that there isn’t more of him. As with the Joker, Two Face is much more sadistic than what we had previously seen. But, he’s also human still. He still has a bit of control over who he once was. This provides for an interesting spin on the split personality angle. As for Commissioner Gordon, I can’t say much. Gary Oldman is so talented that even a supporting role like this one is not to be touched.
In terms of filmmaking and storytelling, the movie is groundbreaking. Christopher Nolan, the visionary director of Memento, does a fantastic job. Director Kevin Smith, a die-hard comic book fan until the end, commented on the film saying that it transcends the comic book genre into full blown crime drama. This astute evaluation could not be more correct. Comic book movies as we know them are toy movies. They are focused on thrills and nothing more. Explosions, special effects, computer animation. The Dark Knight has its share of explosions and effects, but they are meticulously real. Most comic flicks make the effects and explosions over the top to compensate for relatively weak story and lackluster acting. Nolan knows the type of talent he has on this film, so he was obviously aware that he had no reason to overdo the theatrics of the effects. The movie is thrilling even when things are not being blown up or when eighteen wheelers aren’t being flipped tail over top. He creates a riveting storyline through the writing of the screenplay and his attention to detail and picky directing. Nolan cited Michael Mann’s Heat as a big influence, which accounted for the deep criminal relationship between the villains and Batman. Christopher Nolan doesn’t just create another summer blockbuster comic book film. He creates an engrossing crime film that laughs at comic book movies.
Critics are already clamoring about an Oscar for Heath Ledger. The sadness to this is, while a nomination is undoubtedly deserved, a win will always have that cloud of sympathy over it. Even if he does win because he turned in the best performance, nobody will believe this is true. It truly is a shame. It’s very tragic that Ledger died so young, but it’s even more tragic that he will never get to see the work he’s done. He’ll never get to see the immortal character he created. The only solace I can offer is I’m glad that this was his last film. I’m comforted knowing that he went out on his best work, instead of spending the rest of his career failing to top it.
4 and a half stars out of 5. A must see for a comic book fan, a must see for a film fan or an aspiring actor/actress, and a definite must see for people who like watching things being blown up.
Next Week: The Shawshank Redemption.
