Batman: The Dark Knight

Aroview: Christopher Nolan’s follow-up to BATMAN BEGINS pitches Christian Bale’s Batman against Heath Ledger’s lunatic Joker, propelling this blockbuster into less familiar territory: psychological drama.

Basing itself in a more realistic Gotham, with many scenes set during the daytime and a lack of revelry in its (epic and money-soaked) violence, the anarchy on display here mirrors our most pessimistic fears for our future; only the sight of the Batmobile roaring down the freeway reminds us we’re watching a superhero movie. Indeed, less can be said of the action and more of Nolan’s delicate handling of character complexities; even the po-faced Bale manages to evoke sympathy with his struggle to be a ‘hero’.

It is inevitable that Ledger’s freewheeling maniac will stick most in the memory, but this film is thankfully a well-paced ensemble piece. It is, in fact, Aaron Eckhart as Two-Face who truly sums up the film’s themes of confliction, his fallen politician underscoring that even in a world where men run around in tights, nothing is ever black and white.

Adopt-a-Movie Kindly Adopted by Melissa Evans-Scott

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