Friday, July 18, 2008

by Ari

Christopher Nolan raises the stakes for The Dark Knight, a powerful, often stunning, crime film opus that uses extravagant characters to contemplate relevant matters. There's been much talk about the terrorist, post-9/11 allegory that runs through the dense 2 1/2 hour narrative, but this is only a piece of what the Nolans have crafted with this picture. To use comic iconography for an extremely serious morality play is something that could possibly divide viewers depending on what you expect or want from intelligent summer entertainment. The Dark Knight is sort of a milestone in the way it dispatches the escapist sensibility of comic book movies. Sure, there's a thrilling chase sequence with armored cars and explosions, there's plenty of close combat fight sequences and the usual chaos and destruction you'd find in a summer extravaganza, but I'd say these are small moments in a story with a much larger scope, and almost beside the point. Not unnecessary (the swift editing and precise sound design of the aforementioned chase is a lesson in constructing a set-piece), but not the point.

One of the interesting things about social commentary in contemporary film, especially when dealing with concepts of terror and anarchy in our society and abroad, is how filmmakers have been mostly unsuccessful in tapping into the collective fear of a world overrun by sheer corruptible force. Even though there's an ideology behind the worst acts in recent history, people have a way of blocking it out or misunderstanding it until they build up some horrendous notion of pure evil without reason or principle or humanity. When people see an act of brutality on the news or read about a bombing in a foreign country, the core reaction stems from the fear of confronting it. It might not be your immediate reaction, but the thought of eventually experiencing such cruelty and despair is usually somewhere on the mind. How do you survive these situations? Is it chance or luck? Is it by moral choice? How do you make a moral choice when confronted with something so hideous in nature? How can you overcome it? None of these questions have simple answers, but Christopher and co-writer/brother Jonathon Nolan have the audacity to raise and explore them . Is it pretentious or distasteful to use a hyper-real comic book character like The Joker as a metaphor for this idea of corruptible force and seemingly impenetrable evil? I'd say no (this is the purpose of great fiction, is it not?), but again, this will depend on what you want from a movie of this sort. We've had years of amusing diversion in the form of an Iron Man or Indiana Jones, so it's particularly satisfying to see a couple filmmakers have a different aim.

To be honest, as pure entertainment The Dark Knight is hardly a tremendous or groundbreaking success. It takes some heavy exposition to build the main plot and establish all the players, and the bleak tone and intense focus is too visceral for instant escape. The film simply doesn't operate on that level. It's meant to engage, it's meant to provoke, it's meant to upset. I'm not really sure "entertain" was on the agenda so much. It's not playtime, it's business. Is it perfect at all times? No, not really. There's some hammy lines here and there, mostly from supporting actors or background characters, and the deep, low, gravely voice of Bale's Batman will remind you of the film's pulpy roots....but whatever. The point is that The Dark Knight has a pulse because it has something to say. It has emotional resonance (an alternate title could be The Tragedy of Harvey Two Face) and surprising punch. Everyone is outstanding, from Ledger's sickeningly twisted antagonist, to Eckhart's morally distraught Harvey Dent, to Bale's edgy and wounded hero. Forget escapism, this is the real deal.