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The line that divides chaos and insanity, darkness
from light remains as thin as a coin. Flip it and you'll
randomly come up with one or the other and it comes down
to chance as to which one you'll get. Either way the joke's
on you--because we keep flipping the coin every morning
we wake up. Sooner or later the odds are against you and
then it only takes a subtle push to slide into darkness.
Gravity will do the rest as Chris Nolan suggests in his
brilliant film "The Dark Knight". Nolan like Tim Burton
before him has redesigned the Batman franchise to examine
themes near and dear to his heart including when a desire
to change things can cross the line into obsession and fall
into the thinly divided bit between good and evil. Nolan
has created that rarity in the entertainment world--a film
that has its feet so to speak in two worlds the serious
and populist entertainment ones simultaneously without compromising
the vision for either world. We've gotten so used to the
hype of blockbuster films that it rare when the blockbuster
lives up to its hype it's astonishing. ***
As I mentioned before in my review of the theatrical
version of this film, clearly Nolan decided NOT to take
a typical "comic book" approach to shooting the film. He
elected to take the unconventional approach of shooting
it much like the dramatic thrillers "Dog Day Afternoon",
"Three Days of the Condor" and even "North by Northwest"
by Lumet, Pollock and Hitchcock. By eschewing the pop colors
of "Batman Forever" and Burton's own gothic approach to
the material, he both embraces the elements that make the
comic book unique without trapping it in the genre ghetto.
His approach, the script and acting invites viewers to take
this film as a much more serious populist film with artistic
merit. His gamble as with "Batman Begins" succeeds. If you're
aware of Nolan's other films, he uses many of the unusual
techniques he pioneered in everything from his first film
"Following" to "The Prestige" to make "The Dark Knight"
a powerful drama that echoes the Greek tragedies and the
works of Shakespeare. ***
Taking place after the Batman has taken down most of
the serious thugs and criminals that dog Gotham, Bruce Wayne
(Christian Bale) believes that soon he may be able to give
up his alternate identity as crime fighter and resume a
normal life. He has even found someone who can resume his
fight without having to hide behind a mask--District Attorney
Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart in an overlooked, performance
equally as brilliant as Heath Ledger's). Rachel (Maggie
Gyllenhaal--a better actress than Kate Holmes) the woman
that Wayne loves and has had to give up--temporarily in
his mind--for his alter ego and her rival Batman is currently
involved with Dent which makes the idea of giving up his
crusade even more power. All the while Gordon (Gary Oldham)
must decide who to trust in his own compromised department
as officers are bought off a new crime boss (Eric Roberts).
Alfred (Michael Caine) and Lucius (Morgan Freeman) the head
of Wayne Enterprises continue to offer Bruce Wayne sage
advice that he may hear but not often listen to. ***
Enter the unbalanced Joker (Heath Ledger in an Oscar
worthy performance) a villain who doesn't do evil because
he wants money, power or influence but because he thrives
on chaos and wants to prove to the world that everyone IS
the Joker beneath their veneer of civility. Joker constructs
a complex and meticulous plan that will give him influence
and power but only so he can set into motion a dark and
devious plan to make Gotham the capital of chaos reflecting
his brand of insanity. ***
Critically praised when it was released in the summer
of 2008, "The Dark Knight" manages to be both ambitious
drama AND an entertaining diversion (an oxymoron in most
people's minds) tackling larger-than-life concerns that
have been central themes of Nolan's work from his very first
film "Following". In fact, I'd argue that both of Nolan's
films are BETTER films than the more baroque Burton films.
Certainly "Batman" and "Batman Returns" still have their
merit and are brilliantly constructed films but Nolan's
films are both DARKER, more seriously and an underlying
menace to them making Burton's films by comparison seem
like the "Batman" TV series when compared to these Nolan's
films. All of that said, Nolan's "The Dark Knight" packs
a lot of plot into a massive film that almost careens out
of control because he tries to pack so much into his film.
"The Dark Knight" certainly could have run about 20 minutes
shorter than it does but it is hard to pinpoint where, exactly,
Nolan truly could have trimmed his film without sacrificing
the very elements that make it so powerful and successful.
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