The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight

By Jonathan Fisher, August 6th, 2008

The Dark Knight opens with a masterful bank heist sequence, suggesting from the outset that it is not content with merely being a 'comic book movie'. That it is, complete with a maniacal villain that paints his face to look like a clown, but The Dark Knight is also a sprawling, immaculately constructed crime epic. Director Christopher Nolan cites Michael Mann's Heat as a big influence on The Dark Knight, and his film has more in common with that movie than most comic book adaptations. Both films feature enemies who know exactly what they mean to each other. The Joker teases Batman at one point of the film, saying "You complete me." Look past the sarcasm.

As the film opens, Bruce Wayne's alter ego Batman (Christian Bale) is systematically routing the Gotham crime syndicate, and has become so popular that some citizens copy him, though their methods are crude and ineffective. As Batman continues fighting crime, a mysterious new criminal named the Joker (Heath Ledger) emerges, so-called because of his clown-like make-up covering up hideous scars. Police Superintendent Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) has moved past his scepticism of Batman from the first film, instead using him as an ally with vast resources. These resources are put to the test when he enlists Batman to snare a criminal from Hong Kong, and in an exceptional action sequence, Batman shows he is up to the task.

Also in the mix is Gotham's new District Attorney Harvey Dent (played perfectly by Aaron Eckhart), who is romantically involved with Bruce Wayne's former flame Rachel Dawson (Maggie Gyllenhaal, stepping in for Katie Holmes). An ambitious, hopeful, almost Obama-esque figure, Dent has taken it upon himself to clean the streets of Gotham by crippling the mob's networks. Dent remains sceptical of Batman throughout the entire film, and while the Joker slips into the role of the villain, the relationship between Batman and Dent is fascinating on a different plane, as a study of two different approaches to altruism. Both men need each other but find their own methods for justice completely at odds with the other.

As you can see, there is a lot more going on here than in the first film, the superb Batman Begins. Batman -- and Bruce Wayne, for that matter -- make room for the supporting characters. The most important (and impressive) performance of the film is by the late Heath Ledger as the Joker. This villain is a perfect match for Batman, as he comes in and out of the film wreaking havoc and threatening Batman's moral foundations. It's an extraordinary performance -- when Ledger is on the screen, you cannot take your eyes off him and when he is absent you are waiting for him to return. It will be a great shock if he is not nominated for a posthumous Oscar. In every single scene he nails the character, licking his lips while explaining the cruel moralistic conundrums he sets for Batman and Gotham for no reason but to point out, as he puts it, how pathetic their attempts to control things really are. A wise choice by the brothers Nolan (director Christopher and screenwriter Jonathan) is to keep the Joker's origins a mystery. He tells several different stories about how he got his scars -- I won't spoil the fun for you, but my favourite recounting is the Joker's first tale.

There are many, many plot strands, twists of fate, cinematic sleights of hand, and it's a marvel that Christopher Nolan doesn't lose coherence. No character's fate seems cut-and-dried and when the rug gets pulled from under our feet (which happens two or three times in very big ways), we feel a lot more grief and surprise than we thought we would. Kudos to Nolan, too, for not settling for merely setting up the Harvey Dent/Two-Face storyline for a third film -- The Dark Knight wraps up the Two-Face story at the service of this film, without an eye on future installments and box-office grosses.

The Dark Knight is far more complex than most movies you'll see this year. Just about everything is in there somewhere -- morality in vigilantism, post September 11 paranoia, society's desire for heroism, and manipulation of the media by terrorists. Its critics claim that it only basically explores these notions, but is that not enough? Can an action movie dare to urge you to think? You'll walk out thinking about a hell of a lot more than a man who dresses up as a bat and beats up a clown for two and a half hours. I think the film may even have a message. The Joker's antics may prove that an individual may not be impervious to corruption or manipulation, but as a society, we are able to support, strengthen and stabilise each other. This is one of the year's best films.