The Dark Knight July 27, 2008
Posted by CamdenKiwi in : Miscellany , trackbackThere’s something deeply appealing about the dark edginess of Batman, and particularly Gotham, the city of which the Joker once said “Decent people shouldn’t live here. They’d be happier somewhere else”. It’s rarely daylight in Gotham, and Batman is the dark hero it deserves. Cameron Bale’s arrest last week seems almost in character.
The late, and much lamented, Heath Ledger stands out with a superb turn as an insane, devious Joker who’s only objective is mayhem. Its hard to believe this got a 12A rating, given the violent menace Ledger creates as he explains how he got his smile-shaped scars while holding a knife to a victim’s face. The Dark Knight seems far more in need of censorship than the sensitively portrayed tragedy of Brokeback Mountain, rated 15, given current fears about knife crime.
Ledger is certainly the highlight of the film, which is otherwise exciting, aesthetically pleasing in a black, mechanistic sort of way and in serious need of being a good 30 minutes shorter.
Cameron Bale’s Batman is overshadowed by the Joker and, to a lesser extent, Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent, the idealistic district attorney who competes with Batman for the heart of Maggie Glynhaal’s Rachel Dawes and ends up driven over the edge by her death.
And where on earth is Michael Caine’s accent supposed to be from? It sounds like Bruce Wayne’s faithful English butler, Alfred, is an American trying to sound Cockney. Very odd indeed.
Go for Heath Ledger and the cityscape and forgive Michael Caine.
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