THE DARK KNIGHT
dir: Christopher Nolan
"Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I'm an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It's fair. " - The Joker
Brief Synopsis
A rampaging lunatic known only as "The Joker" relentlessly terrorizes Gotham City while the city's vigilante Batman struggles with his duty, hoping the new District Attorney Harvey Dent can assist him and eventually replace him as Gotham's hero.
Why It's Here
Two tragic deaths, one massive marketing frenzy, one of the biggest movies of all time. The success of "The Dark Knight" was foreseen by no one. While two deaths haunted the post-production, they were an early indicator to the bleak rendition that the film would bring to the Batman mythology. However, the strong embrace by fans and critics upon release came as no surprise when the film's anticipation finally peaked as it premiered. Being one of the few Hollywood event films to live up to it's colossal expectations, "The Dark Knight" is not a modern classic for no reason. Complete with political and social undertones, the film transcends the limits of the comic book subgenre. "The Dark Knight" ends up being a sprawling crime epic with less to do with tights and super powers and more to do with political agendas and the concept of justice.
Giant reflective buildings, old courthouses and banks are the first thing to pop on screen, visualizing a far different Gotham than the dark and gritty city previously explored by director Christopher Nolan in "Batman Begins". This new world our characters are found in seems like a terrible continuity error, but in fact acts as a powerful tool to refocus the film and separate it from it's predecessor. "Knight"'s Gotham delivers a city on the rise from it's former crime riddled society, all while foreshadowing a rise of evil in a part of city likely untouched by the scum that inhabits the cities slums (not revisited in this film). Batman's dark figure and menacing growl act almost as a juxtaposition to this light, inviting, and historical part of the city. Yet, it is the Joker that transforms this representation of justice in downtown Gotham into a pool of madness and fear.
Delivered in astonishing force, Heath Ledger's Joker tears attention away from anyone else in the scene, the terrifying presence of Ledger shifts the gravity of the scene in his favour, leaving the audience equally as mesmerized as the other characters on screen. It is quite obvious to see that The Joker acts as a sharp contrast to Batman, his polar-opposite, embodying everything that an arch-enemy should be. Standing up for everything that Batman fights against.
The Joker's beliefs are beyond destructive, and yet he brings a certain logic to them. He constantly rambles on about chaos being necessary, because without it, everything is so boring. Indeed, without the villain, there is no justice. Harvey Dent tells the mayor that with all of the criminals in the city behind bars he can do amazing things with clean streets. What should be a rejoicing period is not what it seems, the mayor quickly reminds Dent to beware of not only criminals, but politicians and lawyers, people whose wallets will empty as a result of clean streets. So, as mad and savage as The Joker is, he exists within a realm that allows him to exist, that secretly thrives on his existence. When everything turns ugly for Dent, The Joker is the first to remind him that his bureaucratic ways have led him here, and that the only thing fair and unbiased in the world is chaos. Dent chooses his own villainous identity by using "chance" as his guide, much like the Joker, Two-Face believes that government and morals are clouded by emotion and choice, and it's up to a strict third party to dictate right and wrong. While the Joker is not as interested in right and wrong, his beliefs are so invested in anarchy that he is even willing to let himself die if that's what chaos has in store, such as when he pleads for Batman to run him over, only to be slightly disappointed when it doesn't happen. It is the opposite nature of Batman and Joker which prevent either of their demises, something which the Joker describes as an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.
Perhaps the most difficult of all human emotions to properly capture on film is madness, many films have attempted, yet few have properly succeeded. Here, Christopher Nolan excels in an area where even filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppolla struggled. The concept is visualized on two different ends of the spectrum, one an agent of chaos, the other an agent of justice. With The Joker, we see a twisted man who admits he does what he does for the mere excitement of it all, to stir things up because without fear and crime, what is justice? While Batman represents the opposite end of madness, an obsessive billionaire dressing up as a bat during the night, spending millions to secretly fight crime, while breaking the law himself as a vigilante. The audience must sit back and watch as these two lunatics immerse themselves in their morals (or lack of) and their obsession with each other. Nolan brings humanity to his Batman, the film constantly questions and contradicts itself about whether or not Batman really is a hero, whether or not he has limits. Raising these kinds of questions shatters the superhero archetype and raises the bar even higher than "Batman Begins" did only three years prior. "The Dark Knight" will not only be remembered for it's financial successes, but also for it's unexpectedly rich character study. Oh, and let's not forget the explosions because while the films is smart, it never forgets what it's here for.
Giant reflective buildings, old courthouses and banks are the first thing to pop on screen, visualizing a far different Gotham than the dark and gritty city previously explored by director Christopher Nolan in "Batman Begins". This new world our characters are found in seems like a terrible continuity error, but in fact acts as a powerful tool to refocus the film and separate it from it's predecessor. "Knight"'s Gotham delivers a city on the rise from it's former crime riddled society, all while foreshadowing a rise of evil in a part of city likely untouched by the scum that inhabits the cities slums (not revisited in this film). Batman's dark figure and menacing growl act almost as a juxtaposition to this light, inviting, and historical part of the city. Yet, it is the Joker that transforms this representation of justice in downtown Gotham into a pool of madness and fear.
Delivered in astonishing force, Heath Ledger's Joker tears attention away from anyone else in the scene, the terrifying presence of Ledger shifts the gravity of the scene in his favour, leaving the audience equally as mesmerized as the other characters on screen. It is quite obvious to see that The Joker acts as a sharp contrast to Batman, his polar-opposite, embodying everything that an arch-enemy should be. Standing up for everything that Batman fights against.
The Joker's beliefs are beyond destructive, and yet he brings a certain logic to them. He constantly rambles on about chaos being necessary, because without it, everything is so boring. Indeed, without the villain, there is no justice. Harvey Dent tells the mayor that with all of the criminals in the city behind bars he can do amazing things with clean streets. What should be a rejoicing period is not what it seems, the mayor quickly reminds Dent to beware of not only criminals, but politicians and lawyers, people whose wallets will empty as a result of clean streets. So, as mad and savage as The Joker is, he exists within a realm that allows him to exist, that secretly thrives on his existence. When everything turns ugly for Dent, The Joker is the first to remind him that his bureaucratic ways have led him here, and that the only thing fair and unbiased in the world is chaos. Dent chooses his own villainous identity by using "chance" as his guide, much like the Joker, Two-Face believes that government and morals are clouded by emotion and choice, and it's up to a strict third party to dictate right and wrong. While the Joker is not as interested in right and wrong, his beliefs are so invested in anarchy that he is even willing to let himself die if that's what chaos has in store, such as when he pleads for Batman to run him over, only to be slightly disappointed when it doesn't happen. It is the opposite nature of Batman and Joker which prevent either of their demises, something which the Joker describes as an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object.
Perhaps the most difficult of all human emotions to properly capture on film is madness, many films have attempted, yet few have properly succeeded. Here, Christopher Nolan excels in an area where even filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppolla struggled. The concept is visualized on two different ends of the spectrum, one an agent of chaos, the other an agent of justice. With The Joker, we see a twisted man who admits he does what he does for the mere excitement of it all, to stir things up because without fear and crime, what is justice? While Batman represents the opposite end of madness, an obsessive billionaire dressing up as a bat during the night, spending millions to secretly fight crime, while breaking the law himself as a vigilante. The audience must sit back and watch as these two lunatics immerse themselves in their morals (or lack of) and their obsession with each other. Nolan brings humanity to his Batman, the film constantly questions and contradicts itself about whether or not Batman really is a hero, whether or not he has limits. Raising these kinds of questions shatters the superhero archetype and raises the bar even higher than "Batman Begins" did only three years prior. "The Dark Knight" will not only be remembered for it's financial successes, but also for it's unexpectedly rich character study. Oh, and let's not forget the explosions because while the films is smart, it never forgets what it's here for.