Some quick thoughts on The Dark Knight:
A morbid pall has settled over Gotham City. Death, both literal and figurative, is everywhere in The Dark Knight and in a twisted bit of irony, the man who emerges as the city's most ruthless killer is also its most vibrant citizen. Heath Ledger's Joker, in juxtaposition to Bale's ascetic vigilante, is relentlessly, breathtakingly, unapologetically alive.Whereas Bruce Wayne hides his humanity behind Batman's cowl and hoarse whisper, the Joker gleefully accentuates his hideous Chelsea grin with garish make-up, and enthusiastically re-imagines the origin of his scars at every opportunity. In a city where both heroes and villains are studiously discreet, the Joker wears his heart on his sleeve and wonders aloud why no one else has the courage to do the same.
"It's simple - kill the Batman," the Joker advises Gotham's criminal elite when they complain. Remove the obstacle that stands between you and your goal. Advance confidently in the direction of your dreams. Be all you can be. He not busy being born is busy dying....
And poor Bruce Wayne, more than any mobster, he wants Batman gone forever.
Gotham does not need Bruce Wayne the man, only Batman the hero and when the rise of Harvey Dent offers him a way out, Wayne tries to shift the burden of incorruptibly onto Dent's shoulders. As long as Dent is acting as Gotham's white knight, Wayne thinks he is free to make the choice that Batman never could: he can choose his happiness over that of others. It is a completely selfish, wonderfully human act. But after Rachel's murder leaves Dent shattered, Wayne dons his costume and Batman retakes his place as Gotham's savior. This time, freed of his hopes for normalcy, he is - like the Joker - wholly himself.
Absolutes of any kind are kindred spirits and from the other end of the moral spectrum the Joker recognizes the Batman as his match. Both are incorruptible in their own way. Alone with Batman, the Joker earnestly reveals himself to his rival. "I don't want to kill you," and almost tenderly, "you complete me." Coming from Gotham's louche jester this should be another taunting joke, but instead it resonates as an admission of vulnerability and desire - something that Bruce Wayne, burdened by the demands of his alter ego, was never able to sincerely make to anyone.In the end, it isn't honor or justice that prevents Batman from killing the Joker, but the private admission that in the Joker he sees what he always wished he could have been himself: an idealist who doesn't need a mask.
6 comments:
I think thats a pretty astute observation. There is no explicit evidence that Batman has any admiration for the Joker, but that being said, he pauses for thought everytime the Joker likens himself to Batman.
There is a Bruce Wayne and a Batman -- there is only the Joker. Despite high-scale probes into his past, Gotham's finest can't pinpoint his birthname.
The first time I saw it the theatre lost power with 5 minutes left. Leaving the theater I thought the more complex, entertaining and interesting character was the Joker. After my second viewing, and first full one, I think Batman's character is just as riveting. With Rachel out of the picture, the "Battle for Gotham's Soul" is a match solely of philosophies.
Maybe not admiration but definitely empathetic recognition. I think Bruce Wayne is disgusted by the Joker and it parallels the fear he has of what he is going to become when he fully accepts that Batman, not Bruce Wayne, is his true identity.
I agree that Batman/Wayne is just as riveting as the Joker. The only difference is that we see Batman/Wayne in a transitional phase whereas the Joker is fully formed. In a battle of philosophies, the Joker's argument is the more polished and logically sound one.
Would you agree that the tragedy of the film isn't the fall of Harvey Dent but the crystallization of Batman's convictions at the expense of Bruce Wayne's humanity?
The fall of Harvey Dent should have the emotional resonance of watching Anakin fall. I wished that the movie was three hours long and we got to see Dent's intense side, as well as Gotham MCU corruption, a little more. That would make his swift conversion a little more believable.
I would agree, but I think they are connected. Dent's fall necessitates the full emergence of Batman, and the death of Bruce Wayne.
I can't deny the fact that the movie is most electric and alive when the Joker is on the screen. Pure action, not riddled at all by inner conflict.
I've heard talk of a 3 hr long director's cut and can would have to imagine that at least some of that extra half hour would be spent more fully exploring Dent's character as well as graft and corruption in the GPD.
Three and a half minutes could also be devoted to a dramatic rendition of Opposites Attract as a Batman/Joker duet. Shooting close to the theme of the original video, Nolan could also use the number to introduce Paula Abdul as Catwoman in the third film. Think about it.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt a little cheated over Dent's character. Dent seemed really sketchy and seedy to me, so I couldn't quite understand why Wayne had so much faith in him. Part of me felt like it was blind faith, so that he could forget about Batman and end up with Rachel.
I guess i just wanted more out of the beginning of the movie. I'll be excited to see the director's cut.
After watching this a second time I don't feel shortchanged by Dent's character. If anything his fall SHOULDN'T have any lasting tragic significance as he was never the hero that everyone - especially Bruce Wayne - wants and needs him to be.
I was initially put off by how easily the Joker sways him after the accident but after further consideration think that his quick fall is essential to the film. As perfect as Dent is perceived to be, his swift fall illustrates the Joker's point that every man is corruptible and further emphasizes the reality that of Gotham's citizens, only Batman can meet the demands of the savior's role.
This time around I was far more interested in Jim Gordon's character. In light of Dent's fall he emerges as the film's most moral character but is hindered by the pragmatic concerns of reality. Batman is not bound by the same restrictions and by extension is free to make the personal sacrifices that any man, either Gordon or Dent, can never be free to make. Whereas Batman self-identifies as "having no limits," Gordon is very much aware of his own but works within them as best he can.
Dent, by aspiring to the same limitless morality as Batman, sets himself up for a fall that is not only inevitable but necessary. Gordon never claims perfection - if anything he studiously avoids it - and consequently emerges as the film's most admirable 'normal' character. I think that it's very telling that Gordon, who seems to have a very clear sense of what is best for Gotham, has serious reservations about Harvey Dent from the very beginning of the film.
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