Make Way for the Dark Knight

Christopher Nolan doesn’t think big. He thinks monumental. The director’s grim case study of Gotham City and its vermin in “The Dark Knight” was so jolting, unrestrained and excruciating in its composition and effect, that any darker and it would have been pitch black. Film lovers shuddered in their seats during the two and a half hours of opening morning, transfixed by the uncomfortable splendor of this chapter in the Batman series.

At the risk of diving right in, the Joker’s performance is appalling and does more than just indulge millions of anticipating viewers. In his first appearance since the masterful opening scene, we see the guy slam a man’s head into a pencil, shattering his skull on contact. As the Joker (Heath Ledger) pointedly asks Gotham’s District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), “do I look like a guy who makes plans?” it’s true that he just “does things” and he does them with unflinching swift while getting off on every grimacing detail.

Though it might sound strange to say he is a man of integrity, the quality does however apply to his occupation as a criminal. He is disgusted with the Gotham crooks, accusing them of misplaced lust in money when it should be put into the process of acquiring it. His sly wit and his own brand of grace make him the most debonair sociopath to date. He is cheeky, confident and the king of crime.

It’s no wonder the late Ledger allegedly grappled with the aftermath of his Joker persona. Pulling long hours as a boundless killer would screw with anyone’s head, especially when allowing it to permeate every ounce of one’s being, which Ledger did with intimidating execution. He delivered on all accounts.

The complexity of the film is jam packed. The characters are continuously faced with moral dilemmas and tests of character. Eckhart, who shows up with an impassioned and perhaps unexpected performance, is the unassuming savior of Gotham. Officer Gordon (the very versatile Gary Oldman) is faced with impossible dilemmas when promoted to Commissioner and Batman is (surprise, surprise) the most tortured of all. He’s beaten inasmuch as on the hunt for a successor and to the point where ethics lose priority to necessity.

Returning champion Christian Bale has no trouble playing a head case, as evident in his devilish performance as Patrick Batemen in “American Pyscho,” for one example. His disturbance in “Dark Knight” is quite different than Batemen’s, but just as intense. He wants nothing to do with the two traits he’s attributed with by Gotham: hero and villain. He’s ready to be the Bruce Wayne he’s never had a chance to be. To complete the jigsaw puzzle, the Joker offers Batman the forbidden fruit of an alliance. The only apparent flaw in Bale’s performance is that heavy-handed breathy voice bordering on satire, which, of course, is clearly not its intention.

Batman’s lifelong love, Rachel Dawes is reintroduced as Maggie Gyllenhaal, a considerable upgrade from her lackluster predecessor, Katie Holmes. She moves about the screen with exquisite poise that is firm, focused and sexy. Her strength is one of her character’s assets, seeing as how she’s the object of affection for both Gotham’s DA and Dark Knight. This feline could be resurrected in a subsequent film (wink wink).

In a movie so conflicted, it had its moments of comedy just long enough for the viewer to catch their breath right before passing out from the pace. For instance, as the Joker walks out of a hospital in a nurse’s uniform, he starts to set off a series of bombs but when his detonator unpredictably malfunctions, he whacks at the device until the whole building blows up in one massive explosion at which point he runs away frantically. This little scene lasting only seconds is one of the few times we see the Joker’s weakness in such a ridiculous manner.

It’s a testament to Nolan’s intent vision that he did not compromise the tone of the film to accommodate the fragile, the timid or the sheltering parents of the world in making it more accessible. Its legacy is its danger and its inconsiderate realist punches and those who don’t subscribe to its expression aren't meant to. This film is truly a benchmark of our time.