Title: The Dark Knight Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Morgan Freeman Directed by: Christopher Nolan Writers: Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, based on a story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer; Batman character created by Bob Kane; Batman and other characters from the DC comic books Director of Photography: Wally Pfister Edited by: Lee Smith Music by: Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard Production Designer: Nathan Crowley Produced by: Charles Roven, Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan Genre: Action/Adventure, Crime/Gangster, Adaptation and Sequel Release Date: July 18, 2008 (wide) MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and some menace Distributors: Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution
The theater seemed just a little bit darker just before the movie started. The overture seemed just a little more ominous. With the heightened buzz surrounding
The Dark Knight, especially the hype generated in the wake of the tragic death of star Heath Ledger, it was hard to know how to prepare. Had Mr. Ledger's unwelcome and untimely passing led self-regarding Hollywood to overstate the quality of his performance?
Not at all, as it turns out. With great respect for his predecessors, Cesar Romero and Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger transformed the Joker from human being to abstraction. The Joker has no past, and doesn't need one. He has no family, no finger prints, no name, and no known address. He is the embodiment of the one thing humans try so hard to control, namely, fear. Like a Mephisto of Gotham, Ledger's Joker is a force of nature in human form. It is a brilliant reinterpretation of a well-known villain.
In Mr. Nolan's
Batman Begins (2005), Bruce Wayne confronted his worst fears, converting them into a symbol that put fear in the minds of Gotham City's criminals. Batman took back the night. But in
The Dark Knight, we learn that this plan had unintended consequences. Wayne's fear, intended as a weapon of deterrence, has conjured a gruesome apparition of Fear Itself in the form of Mr. Ledger's Joker. Fear, Batman finds, is hard to fight. It doesn't want anything, except more fear.
Ledger is riveting. His greasy hair, smudged make-up, and obsessive lip-licking create a picture of a truly rancid individual. Ledger possesses the screen, consuming every pixel of light like a great black hole of cruelty. He menaces and threatens while spouting keen observations about his own meaning, the
yang to Batman's
yin. And he does this without strutting or chewing the scenery. He is dangerously focused. When he announces that "Slaughter is the best medicine," the pun isn't funny. It's window-dressing on grave and unwavering purpose.
Oddly though, Ledger's Joker isn't scary. He delivers some of his most provocative and literate lines while wearing an old nurse's uniform, a starched white dress. As he walks away from yet another scene of yet another crime in this dress, he seems too thin, and rather bent, The Joker's grotesque head too big for his body. The actor behind the character suddenly comes through, surprisingly young, and rather frail. The moment doesn't work, The Joker's callous humor undercut by the sudden fragility of the image.
I fully expected
The Dark Knight to present heartbreak and tragedy, to push Batman further into darkness, and to showcase a revelatory performance by an actor who died far too soon. And it did all of this. But I also expected The Joker to scare me, since after all that is what fear is supposed to do. But Ledger's death took the fear away, leaving pity and regret in its place.
We'll never know Ledger's story and we'll never know what might have become of Ledger's Joker. The mystery haunts us, another shadow in the world of shadows inhabiting Mr. Nolan's dark and visionary movie. But for this shining moment, a great actor showed us how great he could be. We must be content with that.
Watchmen Refreshed
A terrific movie for newbies and long-time Watchmen fans alike, the movie is visually astonishing and vastly entertaining.
Watchmen The Movie: Review
Yes, some plot elements are compressed with nods to the fans, and there are certain changes involving the endgame with Dr. Manhattan and Ozymandias, but the heart and soul of Alan Moore’s tale remains. Snyder’s film is a triumph of a translation…
Who Was the Best Joker?
A look back at all the live action Joker's to see which really was the best.
Punisher: War Zone
The Punisher movie franchise is back and rebooted with a fresh team, lots of laughter and more gore than the average super hero film
Give 'em Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Like the X-Men, the outcasts of "Hellboy II" must decide if they should side with humanity or with their fellow outcasts who seek a violent overthrow.
The Dark Knight
Finally, Batman is here and Adam West is officially gone.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Take Lee Marvin out of his foxhole, paint him red and give him a tail, and set him loose on New York's crazy streets. The result is a devilishly good time.
