Christopher Nolan is one of the most
universally lauded directors of this past decade. So many people have proclaimed him on the
pantheon with People like Fritz Lang, Howard Hawk, John Ford, F.W. Murneau
and even Spielberg – Nolan is part of a different category of directors. At once, he’s a shrewd business man who knows
that 3D doesn’t cultivate the viewing of a film if the film itself has the
right dimensions in sound and in visual.
And generally he’s a master writer and a craftsman of the highest axiom.
So obviously I went to see “The Dark
Knight Rises” at the cinema. It was cued
outside to such an extent that I had such trepidation about going in. So the chief person in the theatre gave me
free access due to my Asperger’s Syndrome, but not to sit rather just to get
out the atmosphere, albeit I was the first Person to sit. Essentially it was so that I could occupy a seat
at the end of isle 3 without anybody purloining the seat and chiefly so that
only the Person I went with sat next to me rather than any other marginal
Person as I find that uncomfortable.
I emphasise this atmosphere so that I
can lucidly articulate the sheer extent of Nolan’s postponing of a film for 4
years. In a way, breaking that gap up
with the wondrous mindscape “Inception” not only gave People something to chew,
but also made Nolan’s film the modern version of Citizen Kane – copied, but
never imitated – or like Metropolis – Modern and bold, part of both gothic pop
rock and the helm of Sci-Fi. Inception
was the film that made me aware that Nolan’s sometimes inscrutable narrative
and thoroughly mapped out character development was the key component into how
his Batman films are so revered.
Subsequently watching Inception, I then thought that he could never top
it or even make another great film. “The
Dark Knight” and “Inception” stand for something more than just films. “Inception”
was like “2001: A Space Odyssey” (which Nolan loves) and something more akin to
Ingmar Bergman’s “Persona” whereby it questions our constant loopholes in the
world, how routine is almost an endless pool of the same thing like “Limbo” and
how the fantasy vs reality of a film is comparable to the visual of our
world. The questions are ambiguous due
to the divisive open-ended ending, which is what Nolan is great at; provoking
thought. “The Dark Knight” questions our sanctimonious morality in how one Man
can be so demoralized by another that it’s almost incomprehensible to us how we
respond to such psychological torture.
Christian Bale was coming of age in that film, still playing the
philanthropic, party boy bachelor while also debunking frauds and going through
trial and error with nuances and depth.
In short, I thought Bale was never
what you would call a “Method Actor”. His stamina and physical commitment to
the role is sublime, but his raspy, jarred cadences could sometimes undermine
an otherwise formidable vigilante. But
with “The Dark Knight Rises” still percolating in my mind, what I have come to
realize is that Bale’s abilities, tones and voice come from his almost devout
dedication to the role. I understood the
character less in this film and I think that was for the better, whereas in “The
Dark Knight” part of the reason why Heath Ledger was so revered was because you
barely knew him. All you knew was that
he blamed the world for his madness, whilst simultaneously trying to afflict
it, for People to be in an empathy machine.
His plans were so cryptic that it kept you hypothesising and thinking
about how you would react to the situation.
It reminds one of Alan Moore’s “The Killing Joke” in relation to the
Joker’s monologue. It kept me thinking
so much that I had to read that Graphic Novel in order to get a perspicacious
view into this dark and tormented mind.
But the strange thing is, as much as
I love The Joker (The Nicholson, the Mark Hamill one, The Cesare Romero (for
sentimental value!) and Heath Ledger one) and so many other people do, he’s not
my favourite Batman villain. I
eventually came to loving Bane more than Batman after playing “Batman Arkham
Asylum” where he’s juiced up by Titan chemicals. This was it for me – when I heard Tom Hardy
from Bronson and who played Eames in Inception was going to occupy the role I
already preconceived the film as Nolan’s magnum opus and my personal
favourite.
Tom Hardy was so physically adroit
and so menacing in his portrayal. His
eyes had no soul what so ever, but his voice encompassed all of the emotive
power that the actor had to convey.
One of the rare things to find in
Dramas like this is your understanding of the villains. This plays off other characters
brilliantly. The Bane In this film was
not a generic monster as he had been so woefully interpreted by in “Batman and
Robin” or a “sidekick”. He was a Man
that had to survive in The League of the Shadows. It questions the genesis of all villains and
Bane is no exception. In trying to make
the best out of his situation, his mind could never recover and his power could
wreath upon Gotham City as Rah’s Al Ghul had wanted.
Bane has to try and find a way for
Bruce Wayne’s fusion reactor to detonate the whole city. Fox and him were the only ones who had known
about it, whereas everybody else was mainly ignorant. But whereas this was made to try and preserve
the energy and help the People of Gotham City, it has put Bruce Wayne in
financial decrepitude and made him reputed to be a recluse. The risks were so great, but Bane could take
these risks if it was an unstable device.
Deep underground his plans of snuffing out Bruce Wayne from his
fantastically gothic and unlikely cave would sure to be a success with the
havoc he’s causing.
I also couldn’t help, but find that
the Alfred is so profoundly great in this film that you hate him. Like the way you would just say “I hate you”
without meaning it. I verily believe
that this is Cane’s best role; in the other films, he was more enthused to help
Batman to get him to protect a city and to serve for a purpose without
failure. Not just a Man in a costume,
but rather one of the higher respected Men in authority. Cane doesn’t move that way in this film. He can be cantankerous and full of
emotion. At some points you understand
why he did what he did and then in others you want to know more. That’s film as a telepathic machine, very
much like “Sunrise” or any of Borzage’s films.
They penetrate deep into your spirit, which is greatly emphasised in The
League of Shadows as well.
If you had went to see Marvel’s “The
Avengers” this year and were impressed by Joss Whedon’s alacrity in the writing
and the amazingly cast roles that’s great.
But taking a look at this film and the way it conveys its deeply
grounded narrative, in the same light as Frank Miller’s “Dark Knight Returns”
and combining past films, you’ll start thinking that The Avengers was a comical
film of great quality, but it didn’t handle as many adult dilemmas as
Christopher Nolan’s film does.
And also we have Anna Hathaway
playing Selina Kyle/Catwoman . I love
how we don’t have origins as we did in “Batman Returns”. She was always a masterful “Cat” Burglar who
knew ways of getting into safes and vaults and how to fight off highbrow Men and
People of high standards. I have a
special penchant for “Batman Returns” (or you could say a guilty pleasure!),
but I was never satisfied with the superficiality to Kyle’s transition into
being Catwoman. It was rushed and
flaccid. The atmosphere and the deep
dark shadows though gave it a fascinating quality. Hathaway’s portrayal though proves how
iconic Pfeiffer was in the role, while also staying original. She’s a crook, but one with purpose. Her diverse morality was great as well – how she would say that her and Batman were saps for staying in a place where you don’t get what
you should be reciprocated, while initially hesitating to do anything for Gotham being greatly persuaded by Bruce Wayne.
Joseph Gordon Levitt was a powerhouse
actor in this film, as was Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman and Marion Cotillard. Gary Oldman was definitely proving himself to
be more than just Comissioner Gordon in this film. This is what you would envision a dedicated
citizen to be and a deeply corrupting Man below the height of his
authority. There’s a real sense of “The
Dark Knight Returns” when you see how he’s depicted storywise.
As well as the people that populate,
Gotham City is a valid world just as Joh Frederson’s world in Metropolis is,
the world in Blade Runner and the skewed world in Bernardno Bertoluccio’s “The
Conformist”. It’s so rich and detailed
and where they chose to shoot the film in places like Glasgow and so forth was
even more enticing as our illusion of reality gets reiterated even more. Each composition of the film makes you aware
of the key to lighting Batman and my favourite moments with Bruce Wayne are
when he’s in that cavernously lit cave trying to trace back the address to
Selina Kyle where Alfred makes his frank speech.
In other words, Christian Bale in
this film has become the modern version of Batman to me. I will always retain my love for Keaton’s
portrayal and consider Batman 1989 to be one of my favourite films for
different reasons. But this film tops it
in my opinion. Its planes of focus on hypocrisy,
the enigma of Bruce Wayne and how everybody thinks they know him, as well as detailed
storylines interlinked with Bane – a burly, Darth Vader and Vincent Price voiced-like character with so much grounded intellect.
You get a feeling that “The Clean Slate” Selina wants is metaphorical to
what Wayne’s done to himself and the monumentally thrilling combat and brawns
in Bane and Batman perfectly complement each other and slowly subside in the 2nd
to 3rd act.
If your faith in modern cinema is
defaulting, go check out this masterpiece for it gives a cinema a higher
ranking still.
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