Timothy and I caught the midnight showing of The Dark Knight this AM, getting home a little after 3:00. I tanked up on a grande Double Chocolaty Double Blended Frappacino to make sure I stayed awake and then we hit the line at about 10:15 or so. I made sure to have a book so that I would not be compelled to make fun of all the fanboys then entire time.
First, this movie is dark. This is not Batman Begins with Bruce facing his fears of his winged tormentors or his perceived failures over his parents’ murders. This is a searing exploration of good vs evil, light vs darkness. It is not for the young, so leave the little blue hooded masked 8 year olds at home. There are numerous murders, several are up close right until the deed when a change of camera angle or off screen move hides the act from view. Nonetheless, the intensity is high even if the pooled blood is low.
Second, all acting performances are solid, even first rate, but pale beside the late Heath Ledger’s Joker. For pure sociopathology, Hannibal Lecter has been unseated (and possible Javier Bardem’s turn as Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men but, not having seen it, I cannot make the comparison). Ledger’s portrayal will further the comparisons to all those who have died young thought to potentially have been the actor of their particular generation. Go ahead and dust off the Oscar; it would be a travesty to give it to anyone else. If Daniel Day-Lewis was a shoo-in for There Will Be Blood, then Ledger is a lock for The Dark Knight. The Joker is brash, cut throat, without any shred of conscience, no sorrow. The silly girls that giggled through most of his scenes had no concept of the depth of depravity being conveyed in his “humor.”
Third, the Joker is probably the closest resemblance to Satan ever committed to film. Pure evil for the sake of being evil, he lives to make the “white knights” turn dark, to turn order into chaos. The more chaotic, the more maniacal, the better. There is no master plan, according to the painted one, only moving from one idea to the next. The trailers have done a good job of mixing up the scenes so that when you do see something familiar, it isn’t followed by what you might be expecting and it is always better.
Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman all reprise their major roles effectively, while Maggie Gyllenhall fills is admirably for the kidnapped brainwashed now married Katie Holmes. Unlike Batman Begins, The Dark Knight visits the death of a major character and it isn’t who you think.
As far as movies go, this is an instant classic and a study in the crafts of directing, producing, acting and a host of other inputs. The Dark Knight is rated PG-13 for violence, suspense, and a handful of swear words (about 1% of the number we heard while waiting in line).
