The Dark Knight

[meddow]

I'm back from work and thoroughly exhausted, but more on The Dark Knight

If you run with the theory that everyone watches a different thing based on their fanish love, for example for me Pirates of the Caribbean is Drunken Former Commodores of the Caribbean and Doctor Who is all about Donna or whichever other Companion I happen to adore, then The Dark Knight was The White Knight, because I just loved Harvey Dent.

This probably isn't surprising since I do tend to love a lawfully good character tragically destroyed by his moral nature and the good cause he's fighting for (see also: Drunken Former Commodores of the Caribbean).

So, anyway, for me this movie was all about the tragedy of Harvey Dent, the Bruce-Harvey parallels and the Bruce/Rachel/Harvey love triangle. Usually I'm not a big fan of love-triangles, but this one was difference because it was an actual complete triangle, in that they were both in love with Rachel, but they're both also in love with the idea of the other. Bruce had found himself in Harvey a figure-head who would allow him to finally hang up his cape, Harvey had in Batman found someone he trusted to get things done in a way he could only dream of. And it was absolutely gorgeous how much faith they had in each other, with Harvey willingly using himself as bait and Bruce ever so hopeful he could retire. You know, I think I might be shipping Batman/Harvey.

And then of course, Bruce chooses Harvey over Rachel, Rachel dies (thank goodness the replaced Katie Holmes with Maggie Gyllenhaal, because with the former actress in the role I may have cheered), Harvey goes mad and we have possibly the best portrayal ever of how in the real world a good man could descend into being a villain, just like how Batman Begins is the best portrayal of how a person could become a superhero. That's the strength of these Batman films, you don't doubt for a second that this could actually happen.

In other things, the Joker was terrifying. Heath Ledger's performance managed to frighten me in a way that only supernatural monsters and aliens have achieved before in movies. Wow. He was just fantastic.

Loved the use of the Prisoner's Dilemma (I think, or a variation thereof) on the ferries. I was probably the only person in the theatre excited by the use of game theory.

Cillian Murphy's cameo was win. In a very shallow note, that guy playing the mayor was incredibly hot. When there was a death threat against the mayor I was all "Noooooo! He's too pretty to die!" And then they killed off Gordon, and I was totally sucked in and believed he was dead and was incredibly sad and was wondering to myself how Christopher Nolan thought he could get away with killing on of Batman's major characters.

My biggest complaint was not enough Alfred. You can never have too much Michael Caine.

That's really all I can think of right now. My brain is tired.

I need to go watch it again. Baring that, I think I need to go and rent Thank You For Smoking to get an Aaron Eckheart fix.

Comments

[artic-fox.livejournal.com]

Note: I don't think Bruce actually chooses Harvey over Rachel. Or at least, this thread clarifies it quite well for me (http://cleolinda.livejournal.com/624511.html?thread=30501247#t30501247).

The addresses Joker gives are 250 - 52nd Street for Dent and Avenue X and Cicero for Rachel. Batman goes after Rachel, so he heads for Avenue X and Cicero, but finds Dent. So Rachel dies at 250 - 52nd, which is the address Harvey makes Ramirez give to Barbara.


I think that is right? It would be like the Joker to do that, especially after in the interoggation scene he had been mentioning Rachel and getting a reaction about it from Batman.

Otherwise, this review is made of win because I think you've identified why I love this so much. I mean, the Joker is fantastic and wonderful and his anarchy is just so mindblowing and scary, but I think the Bruce/Rachel/Harvey dynamic is phenomenal. Bruce and Harvey need each other, in a sort of perverse way, so in the end, when Bruce takes on Harvey's actions and lets Harvey be the hero, and he himself becoming the villian, it is like a sick kind of justice. Batman needs people to believe he can kill, even when he can't, and Harvey needs to stay that beacon of hope for Gotham.

GOD CHRIS NOLAN. YOU ARE WONDERFUL.

BTW: Thank You for Smoking is great, although beware, it does have the Holmes factor. He is great in No Reservations, but really, is about the only great thing about that movie. The Black Dahlia is not worth your time. I haven't seen much else with Eckhart, but I am seriously v. v. impressed with him.

[meddow.livejournal.com]

Ahh. That would explain the mysterious change of mind from Rachel to Harvey. Though, I think it's more tragic if it's not a mistake since it would be Bruce choosing so save his symbol of hope for the city over the woman he loves (as Alfred was saying, it can't be personal), and make him partially responsible for Harvey's descent into insanity.

Perverse dependence is a really good way of putting it. And they're really two sides of the same coin (to use an unfortunate in the context phrase), the symbol of fear and the symbol of hope. I hadn't thought of the Batman needs people to think he can kill thing. And Chris Nolan is so very very wonderful. I remember years before Batman having my mind completely blown by the brilliance of Momento.

I've seen both Thank You and Reservations once before and enjoyed them, although it's been quite some time since I saw Thank You since I had forgotten about the Holmes factor. I've seen Eckhart in The Core (just terrible, but good if you have someone to mock it with) and In the Company of Men (good movie but frightening, terrible if you want to watch it for Eckhart since the character he plays to perfection is such horrific scum and it took me years and No Reservations for me to like him afterward).

[artic-fox.livejournal.com]

Yes, at first I thought he must have changed his mind part way through and that didn't make any sense to me, as how would Gordon have known? So I think the link explains it best. Although to be honest, as much as I like the idea of Batman chosing hope for the city over Rachel, Bruce would have lost her either way. From his point of view, in choosing Rachel (as far as he knows), Dent dies and Bruce's hope of being with Rachel dies too as she won't be with him as long as he is Batman, and he will have to continue being Batman if Dent dies. By letting Rachel die, he no longer has the same motivation to give up being Batman. We can assume that he does want to stop being Batman for his own sake, but a lot of it, I'd safely say, is because he wants to be with Rachel. Either way, Bruce loses. I guess his thought was it was better to have Rachel alive and not his than dead. Although I can see the definite tragedy if he had chose Dent on purpose and sacrificing the woman he loves for his city. ONCE AGAIN CHRIS NOLAN, you overwhelm me.

I haven't seen Memento yet, but from what I have seen Nolan has a great talent for layering a plot, and quite enjoys playing with the duplicity of characters (The Prestige for example, but more in a literal sense). We see the Joker as the bad, and Dent as the good, and Bruce in the middle, and basically the Joker and Batman are fighting a war over Dent... which the Joker wins, and Batman has to take the fall for. I'm quite amazed at how much you could potentially meta this film.

I've heard good things about In the Company of Men, so will try and check it out.

[meddow.livejournal.com]

True. Poor poor Bruce. He can't possibly win and now he can never give up the cape. At least he has Alfred.

You have to catch Momento. It's fantastic the way it's done and the way the mystery is slowly unravelled. It's the most original and clever plot script I've come across. I feel I should warn you about Company, it's a good movie which gives you a lot to think about, but it's one of the most disturbing films I've ever watched.

[jadeddiva.livejournal.com]

Thank You for Smoking is fantastic. He's not horrible in Posession as well, but just...Aaron Eckhart is and has been and always will be on my list of 5 sexy guys.

I agree about the dynamic and about Harvey Dent making the movie for me (though with my Norrington love, is it any surprise that I agree with you?) I also need to see the movie again to give more coherent love other than Jim Gordon rocks my freakin socks.

[meddow.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen Possession, but I'll certainly give it a watch. I very much agree that Aaron Eckhard is very sexy. I wish he were in more and better movies (The Core? Paycheck? And his new one's got Jennifer Aniston in it, who I can't stand).

You do have excellent taste in fictional men. I couldn't help but think watching the movie that this is the second time I've become obsessed with the doomed law-abiding guy. There's a lot poor Norrington and poor Harvey have in common.

And Jim Gordon was wonderful, I'm so glad he had more to do this time around and I was devastated when I thought he was dead.