149) The Dark KnightDirector: Christopher NolanYear: 2008Plot Summary: Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent are forced to deal with the chaos unleashed by an anarchist mastermind known only as the Joker, as it drives each of them to their limits.
Many people are calling The Social Network, David Fincher's newest release which I reviewed below, the film that defines a generation. In the way that Easy Rider captured the 1960s or the way that Taxi Driver captured the 1970s, both critics and fans a like have proclaimed the story of a Harvard student who went on to create Facebook the piece of cinematic art that truly captures the essence of the noughties. However, as much as I enjoyed the film, I have to disagree. The film that I believe captured this decade is Christopher Nolan's crime saga The Dark Knight.
Sure, it is a comic book movie featuring a caped superhero and a make-up wearing villain, but the way the world changed after September 11th is quite perfectly brought to the screen in Nolan's blockbuster smash. The Joker, for example, is symbolic of the face of modern terrorism. After all, he's a villain who can pop up at any time in any place and cause destruction. Moreover, he's someone who lacks any kind of morals or aims wanting only to, as Alfred states in one scene, watch the world burn. And let's not overlook the resemblances between his videos and the ones that Osama Bin Laden made following the events in 2001 too.
Moreover, The Dark Knight captures many of the ways that our society reacted to such terrorism. Parallels can easily be drawn, for example, between the acts that government took in response to it and those that Batman takes in the movie. In order to combat the Joker in the movie's finale, he has to break the privacy of every Gotham citizen. Of course, this is symbolic of the Patriot Act. There are also suggestions throughout the movie that the only way to rid an evil like this is to take extreme measures. As Alfred's wise words once again state: The only way to stop him is to "burn the forest down" bringing to mind the wars with Iraq and Afghanistan in the Middle East.
If you haven't already discovered by now, Nolan's views on such issues slide to the right of the political spectrum. This becomes almost too recognisable in the last few minutes of the movie when Gordon and Batman realise that the only way to maintain morale is to rewrite the truth. However, regardless of The Dark Knight's political persuasion, it still remains a movie that will provide an insight into the post-9/11 landscape of the 2000s for film viewers in future years.
But that's not the only reason The Dark Knight will become a classic movie of this decade, because the crime saga is a thoroughly entertaining action movie. From the first minute, the writing by Jonah and Christopher Nolan is razor sharp and very fast paced. It's also spectacularly well filmed - being the first movie to shoot scenes in IMAX - and moves from one scene to the next with a great rhythm and flow. But, above anything else, it features one of the greatest film performances of all time: Heath Ledger as The Joker.
Two years after his death, his is a role that still stuns me and leaves me in awe. Whenever he is off the screen you wait in anticipation to see him again, yet fear it at the same time for his performance is so chilling. His eyes are cold and emotionless, his frantic gestures are unpredictable, his laugh pierces the skin and his excellent delivery of the character's lines is awkward, unsettling and uncomfortably funny. Ledger becomes a monster in The Dark Knight and is thoroughly unrecognisable here creating a screen villain that will rival the likes of Darth Vader.
It is a flawed work of cinema, featuring some gaping pot holes in the narrative, poor editing in the early action scenes and moments that break the realistic approach that Nolan is taking. Moreover, although the complicated moral dilemmas make it gripping, the narrative does, eventually, peter out into one action set piece after another. Yet, nonetheless, The Dark Knight remains both masterpiece of the crime genre and a turning point in modern cinema that will surely be remembered as one of the finest this era of filmmaking produced.
5/5
4 comments:
Whoah, that is quite a compliment. Personally, I saw it 3 times in the cinema and really loved it, if just for being caught up in the hype machine. Unfortunately, in further viewings, it really weakens, especially the way the film holds onto the dramatic tension for every minute of the 2 and a half hours cancelling out the tension it could possibly have. There are many great moments, mostly Joker, but lots that also completely fall flat because it's just too crammed. The only thing about it that's deserving it's praise is Ledger's performance, which, yes, one of the best of all-time.
Maybe I wrongly used the word 'masterpiece' because The Dark Knight is a flawed movie. I mean, for a start, what the hell is the point of Cillian Murphy in the second scene? But, as far as blockbuster cinema goes, I think this - along with Inception - is the very best that you can find.
I saw it three times in the cinema too. The fact that I was able to do that the stupidly high standards that I'd set says something, I guess. The hype surrounding it was totally off the hook.
*after the
Loooooong day.
I never got the moral dilemma of the ending with the two ships though. Even when explained to me. The film had completely burnt out its fuse by then. Should've saved it for Two Face's demise because I'm stil unconvinced he died.
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