The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight 2008

“Wanna know how I got these scars?”

Expectations were exceedingly high for this movie. It’s the follow-up to a very successful film, Batman Begins, as well as the last completed performance of a talented actor who was just beginning to hit his peak, Heath Ledger. Early buzz said that Ledger was almost assured an Oscar nomination – quite the feat for what most people would consider a popcorn movie. Except…

I happen to love popcorn movies – good popcorn movies. They make for an enjoyable summer and take audiences on an exciting roller coaster of chills and spills. The Indiana Jones series may be the epitome of this type of film: thrilling, well-made and exhilarating. One thing I don’t expect from my summer popcorn fun is to come away with deep thoughts and uneasy questions. When I walked out into the bright July sunshine after watching The Dark Knight, my head was spinning. This was decidedly not a popcorn film. On my trip home, it sparked the kinds of thought that are usually reserved for the fall films – traditionally more serious in tone and in their bid for Oscar gold.

As nearly everyone on the planet now knows, The Dark Knight concerns the clash of titans Batman (Christian Bale) and the Joker (Heath Ledger). Their battle is essentially over the soul of Gotham City and the symbol of that turmoil is Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent. Eckhart is easy to overlook beside the gargantuan figure of Ledger’s Joker, but in a sense he is the heart of the picture. He is the “white knight,” Gotham’s heroic District Attorney, dedicated to cleaning up the city’s corruption in ways that Batman, a vigilante working in the dark, cannot. His ability to act as a foil to both Bruce Wayne and Batman illuminates Bruce’s dark corners as well as his nobility and self-sacrifice.

When I first began watching the film, I wondered why everyone was making such a fuss about Ledger’s performance. It was entertaining and capable but didn’t seem earth-shattering. This was a carefully crafted screenplay written by director Christopher Nolan and his brother, Jonathan. The Joker’s appearances in the beginning are measured, just enough to give us a taste. As the film progresses, he becomes more central and we begin to sense how truly disturbed he is. Bruce tells faithful Alfred (the wonderful Michael Caine) that he understands criminal minds and that they aren’t that complicated. This reflects his mentor’s attitude from Batman Begins, Ra’s Al Ghul. As they turned out to be enemies, this was not perhaps the greatest advice to take, and Alfred swiftly points out that there are people who simply like to see things burn. This is The Joker’s scariest characteristic. He is truly a force of nature, of anarchy. He destroys for the simple joy of destruction. By the time Ledger is sitting face to face with Gary Oldman’s Commissioner Gordon, it was easy to see what the hype was about.

Mention should also be made of the fabulous Morgan Freeman, who plays Lucius Fox, in charge of Wayne Enterprises. He gives the movie its conscience as well as its best line: “Let me get this straight: You think that your client, one of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the world, is secretly a vigilante who beats criminals to a pulp with his bare hands. And your plan is to blackmail this person? Good luck.”

Maggie Gyllenhaal steps into Katie Holmes’s shoes as Rachel Dawes. This was disconcerting at first, as the women resemble each other just enough that I was constantly surprised to see that it wasn’t Holmes. There is no denying, however, that Gyllenhaal brings a weightier presence to the role. Her Dawes is more self-confident and assured — surely good qualities for the love interest of a superhero.

Christopher Nolan is a director who loves to play with identity. Previous films, such as Memento and The Prestige, all have the search for self-knowledge at their core. The Dark Knight has a more traditional structure than those two films, but it is equally layered and twisty. It managed to surprise me in ways I wouldn’t dream of spoiling, but also in its ability to make me reflect about the nature of good and evil, the definition of a hero, and to remember “The Second Coming” by W. B. Yeats…

Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity.

 

What rough beast are we, indeed, waiting to be born? Dark, deep thoughts to ponder on a ninety degree summer day from a film that was definitely not a popcorn flick.

 

So, what are your thoughts on popcorn films or The Dark Knight? I look forward to hearing from you.