The Knight is Darkest just before the dawn...
"Some men aren't looking for anything logical. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn." - The Dark Knight
I just read an article on CNN.com about rabid Batman fans staying up all night to see The Dark Knight. The article predicted that work attendance would be down dramatically today as well as sales of Starbucks Coffee. Well, I'm now proud to say that I am one of those people. I have recently woken up after no more than a few hours of sleep, unusual since I was in a movie theater for about four hours until an ungodly time in the morning. But dammit, it was worth it! I have never had a more exciting or moving experience in a movie theater, not that I can recall. I sat in a theater where every single seat was full, at least twelve people were dressed up as characters in the film and there were people going up and down the isles handing out free Batman paraphernalia. And this was all before the previews even started. The audience, myself included, clapped and cheered when the film began and the Bat Symbol pushed forward through tongues of blue fire. The audience, myself included, clapped and cheered after Heath Ledgers first brilliant scene in the film. And the audience, myself included, gave a standing ovation when the The Dark Knight was over. I haven't experienced a film in such a way before, when people are there not to socialize with their friends, not to kill a few hours because they're bored, but to go to a film because it means something to them. I'm no comic book fan or Batman expert, I just love a good movie, but even there, I felt as if I was among friends.
The Dark Knight is a masterpiece for almost everyone who was involved in making it. It is director Christopher Nolan's best film to date, and I have seen almost all of his work. It is, in my opinion, on of Christen Bale's best performances, if not the best. The film is also a showcase for Aaron Eckhart, who I have seen mostly in comedic roles. But we all know where I'm going with this. Heath Ledger is the reason this film works so well. He carries it on his shoulders. His performance was a revelation, for movie villains and just for acting in general. He dominates the film, but not in the way you might think. He's not in every scene, a lot of the film happens without him. He's there just enough so that we have this eerie sense of foreboding about the film. The Joker is always around the corner. Looking at the previews for the film, I was expecting Ledger's performance to be completely over the top. Not in a bad way, in an "appropriate for superhero movie villain" kind of way. But what I actually saw surprised me. The Joker is a man in a purple suit with a face covered in clown makeup, yet he isn't a character who is ranting and raving and acting like a lunatic. He's crazy, there's no doubt about it, but Heath Ledger plays it very subtly. All we need is to hear that sick, disturbed, Joker laugh echoing in our ears once or twice and we get the point. He has a few monologue scenes in the film that I wish I could have written down because they affected me so deeply. Ledger's scenes are not long or draw out, but they are there, and they are part of the reason the film is great. This is a performance that will be Heath Ledgers legacy, and people are going to remember it and talk about it and study it in film schools for years to come.
I'm definitely going to see The Dark Knight a second time, first because my father had to work today and wasn't ready to be one of thousands of people taking the day off today, and second because I just want to see it again. There are films that you can see once and in that one viewing you can get all that you need from it. Then there are other films that you can watch a thousand times and still be amazed at how much it affects you.