The Dark Knight

Why So Serious?

The Dark Knight

Directed by Christopher Nolan

Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman, and Michael Caine

Rated PG-13

The Dark Knight is a a movie with a curse.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. It’s an utterly fantastic film.  As with Batman Begins, the combination of fantastic actors, a firm director, and a conscious choice of tone makes for a stunning and viscerally satisfying film.  As with most of Nolan’s films, The Dark Knight forces itself to remain internally consistent.  Once a character’s mores are defined, for example, that character does not waver from that path or choice, which means that we in the audience are never jerked out of the narrative with “Where did that come from?” moments.

One cannot comment on this film, of course, withouth commenting on the fact that it is Heath Ledger’s final complete role.  As many have said, it was a phenomenal performance.  In fact, it was so well-done, so layered that I think I could write a complete essay on nothing except that performance, but that’s another essay.  For this one, I’ll leave it with saying that such praise was heaped on the actor before his untimely death, and I firmly believe that it’d be getting the same review were he alive to hear them.

As a sequel to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight fulfills all the necessary roles of the sequel.  In fact, in opposition to most second-movies, TDK managed to avoid falling into the “Well, we established the character in the first movie, what do we do with him now?” trap that many sequels fall prey to.  Bale’s Batman remains as conflicted as he was in the first movie.  Although he is comfortable in his persona as Batman, having undergone that inner transformation in the first movie, his conflict in the second film comes from being forced to live that persona, and see the effect his presence brings to the world of Gotham.  The presence of copycats, the escalation of force brought about by the Joker, and the loss of a loved one all affect him, and change him.  We are taken–again–through a journey of character by Christian Bale, and it is a satisfying journey.

The supporting cast–as always–was excellent, if somewhat understated.  Michael Caine, as Alfred, was understated in this film, although Morgan Freeeman, as Lucius Fox, gained a bit more screen time.  Although disconcerting, this reversal fit the theme of TDK much better.  Both Alfred and Fox function somewhat as the chorus of Bruce Wayne/Batman’s conscience, and since the conflict in this film was less Bruce Wayne and more Batman, Alfred (as Bruce’s conscience) was more in the background, while Fox (as Batman’s warden) was brought to the fore.

Aaron Eckhart, playing Harvey “Two-Face” Dent, is his usual excellent self.  Harvey Dent is, for all intents and purposes, the public’s Batman.  A driven district attorney, Dent faces down the mob and even the Joker with aplomb.  Eckhart’s potrayal of Dent makes him the equal of Batman in almost every regard–a man with iron convictions and the drive to back them, a man with a dark side, a man who struggles with right and wrong.  The transformation of Harvey Dent, Gotham City District Attorney, into Harvey Two-Face is swift and violent, and eminently believable.

Under Nolan’s direction TDK shares many stylistic elements with Batman Begins, but emerges still as its own film mainly through the strenth of cinematography and shot choice.  In this film, the city is even more a character than the first film.  Gotham, in BB, was a dark, corrupt place, already well past the tottering edge, and in desperate need of redemption.  In TDK, we see that the reversal is already underway.  The city is a brighter place–more sunshine, more windows.  Things happen during the day.  Of course, coming back from where it was means the city is even more close to the tottering edge of insanity, but the photography is upbeat enough to make us almost unconsciously wish for good things to happen.

I don’t know if Nolan & Co. will choose to make a third Batman film.   As a reinvention of the franchise, BB and TDK have fully restored the respect and the bank–The Dark Knight, in its first 10 days, has already earned more than $440 million.  There is talk of the film–having already shattered the opening-weekend earnings record previously held by Spider-Man 3–making a run for the highest-earning slot currently held by Titanic.  I think it’s certainly likely, and I’ll be doing my part.  I have yet to experience the IMAX version, which is said to be fantastic.

In Bruges

“In Bruges” is not the newest movie… certainly not as new or well-known as “Iron Man.”  But it is–without a doubt–just as entertaining and a far better movie to watch if your tastes run to extremely dark humor and realistic dialogue and characters.

Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) are sent to hide out in Bruges, Belgium, by their crime boss, played by a viciously Cockney Ralph Fiennes.  Ray is having serious issues from his first “hit,” and Ken–as the veteran hitman–is trying to help him through it.  Their relationship is just one of the parallel metaphors that run through this well-crafted film.

The movie’s marketing was pushed at audience draw, playing up the comedic aspects of the script and the characters.  And the film, to be certain, is hilarious, but it requires its viewers to accept a certain dark and hideously politically-incorrect worldview to get the jokes.  The real value of “In Bruges,” however, is that the jokes are woven directly into a heartbinding story that forces you–as it does with humor–to accept an assassin as your sympathetic hero.

Ray, the younger, fresher assassin, is forced on his first “kill” to come to grips with the awful reality of his business, while Ken, the veteran, is already inured or at least content with the moral issues of what they do.  Stuck together in Bruges, Ray is of course bored and seeks out some nightlife and companionship–including meeting drug dealer Chloe, played by the breathtakingly beautiful Clémence Poésy (of Harry Potter fame), and the cast of a film being made in the city.

Ken, for his part, content with his life, is taken with the ancient beauty of Bruges (the most well-preserved medieval city in Europe) and awakens a side of himself he thought lost.  As the film progresses toward the outcome the viewer knows is coming, Gleeson makes out hearts ache for Ken’s choices and his decisions, and again–like Ray–succeeds in making us sympathetic to an assassin.  McDonough, the director, does this splendidly throughout the film by showing these criminals living by a strict code of their own–loyalty, honor, and scruples.  They may not be society’s common scruples, but they have them, and we are drawn in as they are asked to break from their own code.

Viewers expecting to walk into a brash comedy are not disappointed, but they would be surprised by the charisma that McDonough forces on his audience.  By the end of the film the two assassins have shown so much humanity that one cannot help but be rooting for them, and the last minutes of the film do not disappoint in the drama department.

The film will be available on DVD June 23, 2008, and will be re-released in limited engagements across the United States the weekend of June 13, 2008.  I, for one, will be making a long car trip to go and see it again in the theater.

Iron Man

So the first blockbuster hit of the summer is Iron Man, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey, Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, and Terrence Howard.  Now, you’ll soon learn that I’m a geek for things that go boom, but this one is definately a winner.

I’ve seen it three times.

Now, it’s a movie based on a comic book.  You need to remember that going in.  I’ve read a lot of reviews, and while most of them are very positive (for Marvel’s first independent film, it’s a pretty bravo success financially) there have been some who’ve been attacking it on the grounds of thematic issues.  “…an anti-warmongering film that gives up halfway through…” or “…characters that change far too much in two hours…”  My response to that is, well… duh.

It’s a comic-book-movie!  It would be great if every film made could have staggering cultural and societal significance, but of course some movies are just meant to be entertaining and make the studio a boatload of money.  Given that Marvel announced two planned sequels with four days of the film’s release, I think its safe to say this one falls under the “make the studio lots of money” category.

That’s not to say it doesn’t have larger issues.  The comics of Iron Man have always been politically and socially charged, and the movie is no different.  Tony Stark, the film’s protagonist, is an anti-hero.  A rich, womanizing drunk who’s made his billions manufacturing weapons, he is transformed by the events of the film into a one-man army with a suit of powered armor.  Of course the character changes across two hours–that’s the point of the film!  That Favreau finds time to comment on the conflict in Afghanistan, the topic of weapons manufacture, mercenaries, and genocidal warfare is a credit to him as a director, although he wisely ties these themes into the overall story so we’re never left with a “Gee, that was nice, but what does it add to the story?” moment.

Robert Downey, Jr. has always been underappreciated as an actor, and he really shines in Iron Man.  Few other actors could have pulled off, in Downey’s own words, his portrayal of “a wealthy, establishmentarian, weapons-manufacturing, hard-drinking, womanizing prick into a character who is likable and a hero.“  An impressive regimen of exercise put him in shape to carry off the roll, and he succeeds with flying colors.

Although the special effects play a significant role in the film, director Favreau avoided the actor-less scenes that often plague such films.  Even when encased in the Iron Man armor, Favreau gives us a number of inside-the-helmet views that allow Downey and the other actors to actually act within the suits, instead of counting on the lumbering armor to emote for them.  The supporting cast–especially Paltrow and Bridges–perform their roles brilliantly, and even the smaller characters remain memorable (Howard as a soon-to-be compatriot, and an understated Paul Bettany as Stark’s household AI computer).

 As the first in a series, we can safely call Iron Man an origin story, and as such it performs brilliantly.  By the end Tony Stark has embraced his role as the Iron Man and begun gathering a loyal cadre of supporters, including the Marvel-wide agency known as SHIELD.  We see his transformation as a person, and his design and construction of the Iron Man armor.  The strength of the movie as the lead vehicle for a franchise, of course, will be seen in how Favreau et al manage to keep us coming back for more Tony Stark when we already know how he got there.  A lot of the strength of this film–and what is winning it non-comic-book-reader audiences–is the journey of Tony Stark from prick to prince.  Seeing how Stark will perform as a prince alone will be an interesting challenge.

Iron Man at IMDB.

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