Film Review: The Dark Knight (2008)
Ideas Clash in Christopher Nolan's Epic "Batman Begins" Sequel
Nov 19, 2008
Two-Faced Dilemmas
This much is true: The Dark Knight is a film of many faces, as splintered unto itself as any of the twisted, psychologically unbalanced characters wandering its innards. Pity director Christopher Nolan, who found himself halfway done with this anticipated mega-budget sequel when its hottest young star was unexpectedly vanquished; such a plight certainly dims when compared to the shuffling off of one's mortal coil, yet it nevertheless marked a significant and inevitable turning point in the creative process at hand. Merited or not (something beyond anyone to say), the almost instance ascension of Heath Ledger to Jimmy Dean’s boulevard of broken dreams became, for better or worse, the film’s biggest selling point. More so than creating instant, implicit advertising, the nature of this moment was significant in that it rendered the incomplete work suddenly self-aware.
No surprise, then, that watching The Dark Knight feels like seeing two cuts of the same film, made by two different filmmakers (or, the same filmmaker from two separate points in time), cobbled together into a singular whole like some ungainly cinematic Frankenstein. It’s a beautiful and frustrating work in its clashes of tone and content – a messy amalgamation of the film Nolan set out to make, and that which he found himself confronted with (or, perhaps, inspired to).
At its core a Machiavellian struggle (Batman vs. Joker vs. Dent) held in the trappings of neo-noir crime pulp – as specific in its similarity to the upheavals of our own political moment as it is to issues as timeless to humanity as those explored by Shakespeare and the Greeks – The Dark Knight never so much achieves steady greatness as it does exquisitely emulate it. That there exist more than a few moments of sheer, blinding genius (the Joker's introduction; back-to-back 180 degree vehicular flips) amidst the more half-hearted majority (the interminable ferry sequence) makes this as frustrating a film as Tim Burton’s own 1989 adaptation – more so if you believe Nolan's vision to be a more substantially meaningful attempt to engage with and explore its chosen themes (and a superior technical exercise at that).
More Than One Can Chew
Despite its inconsistencies, The Dark Knight carries itself so deftly as to conceal its hubristic flaws – most of the time. Ledger’s Joker shames Nicholson’s extended cameo (perhaps the most hidden in plain view walk to the bank in movie history), though the bulk of the leading cast can be similarly praised for their engagement with the material (minus the usually great Christian Bale, who comes off here like a willing clothesline) as well as their ability to make even the most awkwardly composed dialogue sound digestible.
Gary Oldman may be the finest as the film's morally grounded, one-man Greek chorus, while Aaron Eckhart's overlooked performance renders almost exquisite a part that, on the page, comes off as rushed and calculated. Altogether, though, Nolan’s tragic-opera almost collapses under the weight of a miscalculated climax riddled with sanctimonious moralizing, forced political allegory, awful extra performances/direction, and at least one unforgivable contrivance of character. Like the clashing of its titanic leads, the film itself evokes the collision of an unstoppable force with an immovable object.
Reaching in all directions at once – character study, high-octane actioner, romance, police drama, cautionary political tale, headgame thriller, etc. – it’s inevitable that many of The Dark Knight’s purported philosophies come up short, like overwrought Matrix dialogues minus the savory geek factor. Still, it’s easy to take for granted the many dizzying, awe-inspiring elements therein. The soundtrack – particularly the oft-implemented, unnerving theme "Why So Serious?" – provides savory dramatic uplift, and were films judged solely by the emotive impact of their first and last scenes (here, a wall of blue flame from which the Batman logo emerges and a mythic variation on the archetypal into-the-sunset exit, respectively), this one would be a masterpiece. Critic Keith Uhlich labels the film as “at best inelegant, at worst inept”. This is not an unfair statement, knowing that it is in the varying textures of our taste that we emphasize and weigh these qualities. It’s a labyrinth worth returning to – certainly in parts, if not in whole.
