The Dark Knight: There Will Be Anarchy

The Dark Knight: There Will Be Anarchy

“There are no more barriers to cross. All I have in common with the uncontrollable and the insane, the vicious and the evil, all the mayhem I have caused and my utter indifference toward it I have now surpassed.”
-- Patrick Bateman from American Psycho

“The first time I stole so that I wouldn't starve, yes. I lost many assumptions about the simple nature of right and wrong. And when I traveled, I learned the fear before a crime and the thrill of success. But I never became one of them.”
-- Bruce Wayne from Batman Begins

“You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
-- Harvey Dent from The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight is an apocalyptic reaffirmation of the enthralling power of pure cinema. Christopher Nolan continues to thrill as he delves further into the Batman mythology. He has made Batman his own and the cinematic traces of what has come before have vanished completely. The Dark Knight does not dazzle us; it seduces us with every frame of its being. The film commands an undeniable hypnotic response from its audience. There is no denying the film’s epic scope. Christopher Nolan has made more than the perfect comic book film; he has made the ultimate graphic novel film; he has made a sprawling, operatic crime epic. Christopher Nolan has made a Batman film for our times. In one way, he has made a grand crime epic in the tradition of Heat, The Departed and The Untouchables. He has made a sequel that rivals its predecessor as The Godfather Part II, The Empire Strikes Back and The Road Warrior did. The Dark Knight is a brilliant allegory for our post-9/11 era. The film is far darker in mood and story than Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins. It even makes Alex Proyas’ tragically haunting The Crow seem upbeat in comparison. The film is the antithesis of this summer’s wildly enjoyable Iron Man with Robert Downey Jr. For such a grim film; it is one of the most exhilarating journeys I have taken in years. The film is every bit as thrilling as it is downbeat. The characters who occupy Mr. Nolan’s tapestry are paradoxes, but it is the final mood of the film that creates the ultimate paradox. Within the darkness of Gotham City’s downward spiral, Mr. Nolan has a masterpiece. All movie lovers will find something to cherish. The Dark Knight is the alpha and omega of cinema.

Heroism is tough in a brutal world. At the end of Batman Begins, Batman had escalated the stakes in Gotham City’s battlefield of crime. Bruce Wayne had created an intense response for dealing with Gotham City’s criminal elements. He became the Batman. The beauty of Batman Begins was that it was a classic origins story that focused on the central character for a change. In The Dark Knight, we have a good idea who Bruce Wayne is and a better idea about his vigilante alter ego, Batman. One man’s heroism is another man’s vigilantism. By taking a stand against Gotham City’s criminals, Batman essentially told the criminals to “bring it on.” This can have unintended consequences, he has inspired criminals to come after him. By taking a stand, Batman has changed the world, but maybe not for the better. There is something always lurking in the darkness, ready to strike when you least expect it.

The Dark Knight picks up where Batman Begins ends. Gotham City’s criminal underworld is in disarray after the fall of Carmine Falcone. They are attempting to pick up the pieces. The criminals are on the run. A heroic trio has emerged to take on Gotham’s criminal elements. Christian Bale’s Batman/Bruce Wayne has found a new ally in his fight against evil, Aaron Eckhart’s charismatic, crime fighting district attorney, Harvey Dent. Together with Gary Oldman’s Lieutenant James Gordon, they attempt to rid the city of its criminal underworld, but not everything goes as planned. Instead of saving the city, they may have become enablers of its destruction.

A daring daylight bank robbery introduces us to cinema’s ultimate anarchist. The late Heath Ledger’s Joker is every bit as chilling, psychotic and chaotic as one could expect, but only more so. We have never seen this incarnation of the Joker on the screen. Ledger’s penultimate creation is the very essence of pure chaos as a character. The Joker has a belief system that he adheres to religiously throughout the film-- chaos and anarchy. During the bank robbery, each clown masked robber kills the other robber after each necessary task is concluded. The Joker is wildly efficient. He is taking the Mafia’s money. Money is the only thing they understand; he takes their money. They want to hire him to get rid of Batman. Ledger’s Joker is pure evil; he not only inspires fear in his foes, but in these very mobsters who have hired him to eliminate Batman. Eric Robert’s Salvatore Maroni seems to have met his match when dealing with the Joker. Ledger has taken the character to a place where Jack Nicholson and Caesar Romero never could take him before; the atmosphere did not allow for it in their respected versions. Ledger found inspiration from Sid Vicious and the Droogs from Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange. His performance shows these inspirations and more. He is equal parts punk rocker and Malcolm McDowell’s Alex. In one scene, Ledger is surrounded in darkness with only his demented clown painted face penetrating the abyss. Thanks to Wally Pfister’s cinematography (A longtime Nolan collaborator); Ledger is lit like Marlon Brando’s Walter E. Kurtz in Apocalypse Now. Watching Heath Ledger in action is akin to watching Brando’s Kurtz in all of his chaotic glory. His Joker is a very “Kurtzian” figure; his Joker is the absolute heart of darkness. Heath Ledger’s work in The Dark Knight is as diverse as it is idiosyncratic. Brokeback Mountain and I’m Not There were signs we were dealing with an accomplished actor who took chances in his choices. Ten Things I Hate About You and A Knight’s Tale were extreme polar opposites of the Joker. The Joker was the last role one would expect Heath Ledger to play, but he took it and despite some fanboy misgivings at first, he made it his own. He made it his own. I doubt anyone else will ever attempt the role again. Heath Ledger’s Joker is never overkill, but his cackle will haunt you for many years to come. His Joker seems like the perfect creature to follow on the heels of Daniel Day Lewis’s Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood. There is an obsessive nature to both men that makes for riveting and unforgettable performances. Heath Ledger is the Joker; he will always be the Joker.

One of my major complaints with Tim Burton’s Batman was that it was more about the Joker than Batman/Bruce Wayne. The Dark Knight is certainly more about the Joker than it is any other character in the film, but the brilliance of Christopher and Jonathan Nolan’s screenplay is that they use the Joker as a mirror to reflect the major character’s traits. The Joker is a bottomless pit of anarchic cruelty. He knows no boundaries; how is someone like Batman supposed to confront him? The Joker has no moral code; does Batman have to give up his moral code in order to level the playing field? This is one of the fundamental questions which is probed in the film. The Dark Knight is not a direct answer to 9/11, but it asks the toughest questions of our current age. Must we employ the tactics of our enemies to win; must we burn back the animal flesh to prevail over the evil elements of our society. Must we engage in torture and water boarding? Must we revert to the most primal and savage aspects of being? Must we become like the terrorists to win? The film is a brilliant allegory to so much going on in the world today. Gotham City, a thinly veiled Chicago, is the equivalent of war torn Baghdad. The Joker is the very essence of terrorism. No one knows when he is going to strike. He is not doing it for the money as we learn early on. He exists solely to shatter order and instill chaos in everything he touches. He is like no other foe Batman has ever fought, but there is truth in the Joker’s madness when he tells Batman:
“I don't want to kill you. What would I do without you?”
There is logic to his insanity. In one sense, they really do need each other. Their relationship is like Richard Nixon to Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. When Nixon died, Thompson had lost his greatest foe, but a necessary foe.

While Heath Ledger’s performance is every bit as staggering and brilliant as we expected it to be, the film boasts a plethora of actors at the top of their game. Christian Bale continues his winning streak as one of the most intense and engaging actors of his generation. Between filming Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, Bale fascinated us in The Prestige, Rescue Dawn, 3:10 To Yuma and I’m Not There. He is one of the best actors of his generation. He has been a powerful force ever since Empire Of The Sun. He has played Patrick Bateman (American Psycho) and Bruce Wayne in one lifetime. He is able to play the hero and villain with equal cunning. He is perfect as the troubled Caped Crusader; he is the perfect Batman for Christopher Nolan’s vision. Bale and Nolan have an excellent working relationship. It clearly ranks up there with the great Martin Scorsese/ Robert De Niro collaborations as well as those of John Woo/Chow Yun-Fat and Tim Burton/Johnny Depp. The beauty of watching Bale in The Dark Knight is we get to see Batman in a true detective story. The first half of the film shows Batman in a Sam Spade and James Bond mode. He is on the trail of Chin Han’s Lau who has the Mob’s money. Lau is in dealings with Wayne Enterprises, but has nefarious connections to Gotham’s underworld. With the aide of Morgan Freeman’s Lucious Fox, Bruce Wayne is able to use wonderful toys to fight crime. Freeman brings his usual wisdom and grace to the part. He is the equivalent of Q from the James Bond films-- always inventing gadgets to help Bruce Wayne. Fox knows what they are being used for. Freeman’s Fox is one of two surrogate fathers that Bruce Wayne has in the film. The other being Michael Caine’s Alfred who continues to make the role more and more his own creation. Alfred and Lucious act as Bruce’s conscience. Each man lives by strong, moral standards and they share a fatherly love for Bruce Wayne.

Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent is the best realization of the character to date onscreen. This is a far cry from Tommy Lee Jones Harvey Dent (A.K.A. Two-Face) in Batman Forever. Eckhart gives Harvey Dent a tragic fall from grace that is painful to watch. He is Gotham’s “White Knight”. He is the legal side of Bruce Wayne’s vigilante team. Bruce is so enamored with the job he and Lt. Gordon are doing cleaning up Gotham’s streets, that he feels he may be able to retire Batman for good. Harvey Dent is dating Bruce’s ex-girlfriend, Rachel Dawes, beautifully played by Maggie Gyllenhaal. She replaces Katie Holmes and while I did not mind Holmes in Batman Begins, I cannot say her presence is missed. A very interesting love triangle takes place. It adds to the film’s emotional fiber. Harvey Dent is obsessed with chance as he is always flipping a coin in a manner that recalls George Raft crossed with Javier Bardem’s Anton Chigurh from No Country For Old Men. Everyone knows that Harvey Dent transforms into Two-Face, but the how is absolutely mesmerizing in this film. The Harvey Dent storyline is very influenced by Jeph Loeb’s and Tim Sale’s The Long Halloween. Harvey Dent is the perfect mix of two of Aaron Eckhart’ greatest performances-- Nick Naylor from Thank You For Smoking and Chad from In The Company Of Men. Harvey Dent is the first major role that allows for Eckhart to use his astute acting prowess with his classic Hollywood leading man looks.

No one has surprised me more than Gary Oldman as Lt. James Gordon. Gary Oldman has always been an intense powerhouse on screen. How ironic is it that the original bad boy of his generation who played such wild and sinister characters as Sid Vicious (Sid And Nancy), Lee Harvey Oswald (JFK), Jackie Flannery (State Of Grace), Dracula (Bram Stoker's Dracula), Drexl Spivy (True Romance), Stansfield (The Professional) and a host of other roles would turn out to be Gotham City’s only honest cop? Is it not enthralling to see actors like Oldman and Bale who played their share of psychotic characters go up against Ledger’s inspired hellion, the Joker? Who would have thought that Lee Harvey Oswald and Patrick Bateman would join up against the Joker? As Gordon, Oldman reminds us why he is such a powerful presence onscreen. His partnership with Batman, no, his friendship with Batman is a wonder to watch unfold in this film. For it is Oldman’s Gordon who may truly understand Batman’s role and the role of heroes in this age. By giving Gordon, Alfred and Fox larger roles, Nolan continues to show a respect for the source material and complete understanding of their importance in the grand scheme of things. This Gordon is a far cry from Pat Hingle’s portrayal.

Christopher Nolan has reinvented Batman for the greater good in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. He has a meticulous eye for detail which dates back to Following and continued with his breakthrough film Memento. His remake of Insomnia stands on its own merit, but Batman Begins revolutionized things. It was not only one of the best comic book films, but it was an incredible film on its own. The beauty of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight is that they transcend the genre. These are not just great comic book films, but excellent and engrossing epics which appeal to comic book fans and non-comic book fans alike. He has taken iconic characters and put them in real world situations. Batman Begins did it so well that James Bond followed a similar reboot in 2006 with Casino Royale and the results were nothing less than spectacular. His Batman films are grounded in incredible performances from incredible actors. Nolan has made a film that pays homage to his hero, Stanley Kubrick. The Joker and his actions are a stunning tribute to Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange. Yet he pays homage to Francis Ford Coppola as well with some nice winks to The Godfather Part II and Apocalypse Now. There is a great showdown on the streets of Gotham involving the Bat Pod that will remind you of The Empire Strikes Back. Gotham City is very much like Michael Mann’s Los Angeles in Heat. It is a grandiose crime epic in the Michael Mann tradition as we see his “men at work” ethos in full gear between Gotham City’s Knights and the city’s underworld. Wally Pfister’s camera work is haunting and all too realistic. Nolan’s aversion to CGI effects is a refreshing blast and gives the film it unrelenting realism. I am a big fan of James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer’s score. It is very appropriate for the tone and mood that Christopher Nolan has set in these two films.

In the darkest of all realms with only the flickering images on the screen, Christopher Nolan has created a masterpiece that will not be soon forgotten. This is epic storytelling on par with Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood. Both films are as epic in scope and engrossing. Daniel Plainview shares the obsessive qualities of both Batman and the Joker. Bruce Wayne is obsessive about getting rid of the criminals. The Joker is obsessed with anarchy and destroying order. Daniel Plainview has traits of both of these iconic characters. Yet he leans more toward the Joker, Plainview was a walking, breathing monster. It is not just the characters in these films, but it is that two directors have contributed two massive epics to the canon in less than a year. The Dark Knight, like There Will Be Blood, is epic storytelling at its very best. These are the epic stories of our time.