Not Just for Batfans - An Instant Classic

Rating: 10/10 (28 September 2008)

Chris Nolan scores a direct hit with "The Dark Knight". He extracts brilliant performances from his cast and presents an engaging story which moves along at a healthy clip which belies it two-and-a-half hour running time. Nolan continues to refresh the Batman franchise, turning it into something with broad appeal but with the added dimension of staying power.
Expect to find high quality acting performances across the board. Christan Bale, as the titular Dark Knight, continues the sterling work he started in "Batman Begins", sustaining the admirable portrayal of a man struggling with the dualities inherent in the lifestyle choices he's made. He convincingly captures both the deeply dark motives that fuel the Batman, and the flighty lightness of the wealthy playboy reality that Bruce Wayne is forced to construct. At its core it's fully consistent with the essence of Batman and definitely raises the bar over the last decent attempt, which was back in 1989 when Michael Keaton had his first outing as the Caped Crusader.
Honourable mentions also go to Morgan Freeman, Michael Cane, Gary Oldman, and Aaron Eckhart. The only possible mis-step was Maggie Gyllenhaal's turn at Rachel Dawes. Her performance does well to capture the conflicted loyalties to Bruce Wayne (Bale) and Harvey Dent (Eckhart), but is devoid of any chemistry with either of them. Her presence therefore turns out ultimately to be more decorative than functional.
All of this however, pales into insignificance in the face of the late Heath Ledger's astounding performance as the Joker. His character is irresistibly magnetic and he dominates all his scenes. I defy you to notice anything else on-screen when he's in frame.
Ledger's ultimate feat though is that he completely disappears into the Joker character - not one trace of Ledger the actor is recognisable as he spins two or three discrete and all equally disturbing personalities during the course of the film. And this is about a lot more than the fact that his face remains painted throughout the film.
The posthumous Oscar buzz is most definitely not misplaced sentimentality. With this portrayal, Ledger has created the definitive version of the enigmatic Joker, and it will be the one to which all subsequent (and indeed other) Jokers will be compared. Weeks later I am still wrestling with the question of whether the Joker was either very sick or very smart, or some truly scary hybrid of both which cannot be captured in a single word.
A lot has been said about the toll that portraying the Joker took on Ledger's psyche. Speculation is rife that the extent to which he invested in the character for an authentic interpretation spurred him tragically to take his own life. This performance certainly lends credibility to that notion and leaves on asking whether the fictional Joker has finally claimed his first real-life victim.
As for the remaining aspects of the film, they all come together very well to create a compelling backdrop for the powerful performances. Economical dialogue, inspired selection and dressing of Chicago as Gotham City, super-cool new Batman technology (or should I say "toys"?), and a rich story filled with nuances which faithfully expose the richness of the Batman mythology.
A word on the prohibitive rating applied to the film: "The Dark Knight" is definitely not kids fare, with disturbing themes and some scary visuals. Much is made about the violence content but it's mostly implied violence and I must confess, I think I've seen worse in Chris Farley movies. So with proper adult supervision, this film can be an appropriate choice for a great family night in.