Summer Review #3 -- The Dark Knight

Whoever wants to see a classy film that, apart from being a resoundingly effective comic book adaptation, is also an innovative combination of fantasy and crime drama, raise your hand. In fact, do not waste time raising your hand. Go out there and see The Dark Knight now. It is that good. This is undoubtedly the best film of the summer and it will have been one of the best movies of 2008. The first Christopher Nolan film about the caped crusader, Batman Begins, has shown us the origins of the hero's mission, all the while delving into his psyche, moral code and inner conflicts. This time around, Nolan deepens all the characters' relationships, while bringing in new ones and their stories; examines human psychology in more profound ways, even touching upon the Zeitgeist; and, above all, creates a film timeless in its concerns and message.

The story starts off six months after the end of Batman Begins. Batman (Christian Bale) has established himself as Gotham City's outlaw crime fighter, while also tending to his public Bruce Wayne persona, all with the help of loyal butler and father figure Alfred (Michael Caine), incorruptible detective James Gordon (Gary Oldman) and resourceful CEO of Wayne Enterprises, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman). Trouble is brewing on the horizon, though; there is a new criminal in town, played masterfully by the late Heath Ledger. He has earned the name Joker from the playing cards he leaves at the scene of every heinous crime; he is the king of psychopaths, a scarred lunatic who employs hideous clown make-up to stylize his maniacal imperfections; he thrives on chaos and lives for a good confrontation. As the Joker plunges the city into deeper and deeper chaos, he starts challenging Batman, and the two start a psychological duel that pulls into its maelstrom not only the mythical bat outlaw, but also two figures from Wayne's life, best friend Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and her love interest Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), the new district attorney with integrity and justice on the agenda. Can Batman outlast this evil? Can the Joker destroy Batman's code? And can lawlessness push everyone to the brink?

From the opening sequence, to the deranged messages that the Joker sends to Batman, to the unique "social experiment" conducted, this film is a sophisticated and rich character study that plays up the highs and lows of human nature. Any lesser filmmaker would have found the comic in a comic book adaptation, but not Nolan, who successfully turns the piece into a symphonic crime drama that treats its characters as though they were players in the most daring of Greek tragedies. The action sequences are a welcome addition, rather than a distraction, as in so many summer blockbusters. Nolan makes damn sure that every scene and detail is in the context of the story and never wanders away from the human element in the equation.

The actors are once again at the top of their game. Bale gives a strong performance as the hero teetering on the edge, always one step away from the very villainy he is attempting to defeat. Most importantly, the actor manages to draw a fine, yet sharp, line between Wayne's positive concept of Batman's identity and the Joker as the epitome of darkness that Wayne's inner struggles can easily lead him to. Caine, Oldman and Freeman find new depths in their characters, the pillars of strength in Wayne's alter ego existence, while Gyllenhaal is wonderful as Rachel, breathing life and passion into the role. Eckhart is excellent as Dent, whose evolution gives the actor room to successfully explore the spectrum of changes that the character goes through; the comparison between Dent's introductory, and definitive, scene and the later developments is a sight to behold.

As for Ledger's performance, the portrayal deserves... well, it deserves a paragraph or two, to say the least. This is the most delirious, frenzied, slithery and ravishing villain of the past five years at least. As the Joker, Ledger is a picture of twitchy psychosis, a hurricane that leaves nothing but death and destruction in its wake. Paradoxically, the make-up is the factor that least contributes to the actor being unrecognizable; it is his gestures, grimaces and the incredible vocal transformation that turn him into a ruthless loner from a nefarious realm, an Alice from a rather grotesque Wonderland. The performance makes us wonder about the facets of the character that Ledger would have yet had to discover, and serves as a grim reminder of a talent lost.

The layered performances, rich script and the hybrid of genre harmonies make The Dark Knight a cinematic experience not to be missed. This is one of the rare times when you should believe the hype.

10/10