Much has been said and written about “Dark Knight” since its worldwide release on 18th July. And here I am too joining the likes of whom that have been compelled by the sheer celluloid mastery to pen down their opinion, praise or criticism.
Even before its release public interest in it had been sufficiently aroused by the untimely death of Heath Ledger, which made this the last movie of his prolific career. For the publicity of the film the studio kept in the fore front the villain, the “Joker” played by Heath, instead of the hero i.e. the “Batman”, played by Christian Bale. This seemed like a very unusual strategy since as per the rule book the savior of mankind is the one who is usually promoted the most. When I ponder over this strategy the question foremost on the mind is that whether this was chosen to make the most of the aftermath of the untimely demise of Heath or his portrayal of the character of Joker left no room for doubt as to who would be pulling the crowd to the theater (the most likely answer would be a nod to both of them). I would like to go with an affirmation to the later question because it leaves no other possibility.
In spite of being a movie buff, I had given ‘Batman Begins’ a skip. The reason behind this was that the last Batman installment, “Batman and Robin”, had left such a bad taste in my mouth that I was completely off the Batman bandwagon. I had realized that I had come off age and the comic book setting and storyline of the Batman franchise didn’t appeal to me any longer. Moreover never had heard of Christian Bale, due to which my curiosity towards the star appeal could not get tantalized. Due to these very reasons, even though “Batman Begins” hit the bull’s eye at the box office and made a mark on the mass and critics alike, I remained unaware of the cinematic history that was being created and thus missed out on the opportunity to catch it in the theaters.
I cannot deny the fact that indeed it was Heath Ledger’s death that got me aware of the making of “Dark Knight”, the sequel to “Batman Begins”. I had watched “Brokeback Mountain” and therefore knew what Heath was capable of on screen. So as the days drew nearer for the release of Dark Knight I started getting more and more attuned to the happenings and press release surrounding the movie. By then I had also watched “The Prestige” and so was no longer a stranger to Christian Bale’s acting powers. Thus my faith in the star cast had heightened my anticipation, for the movie, tremendously.
Now that I have watched the movie let me talk a little about the aftermath. First of all, after a long time I have come across a movie whose hype did it justice.
The impact of the movie, on one hand, and the performance of Heath, on the other, has been of such magnitude that every time the impact is about to lessen I feel compelled to renew it by watching another rerun. It’s not exaggeration, but Heath’s character has haunted my sleeps. The Joker’s psychotic disposition is not what has haunted me but it’s his rationalism which has. My hats off to the mind behind the conceptualization of the theme of the movie. A movie which leaves you with questions and makes you delve into yourself for the answers are very hard to come by and meant to be reckoned with. This is a movie which has joined that league and deserves to do so.
Towards the end of this passage, I would like to join millions of viewers who have voiced their support for Heath to be not only nominated but win the Oscars for Best Actor (and not Best Supporting Actor) posthumously.
Last, but not the least, I really hope that the Batman franchise has more in store for us, who have now, once again, become ardent followers of this legacy!
Even before its release public interest in it had been sufficiently aroused by the untimely death of Heath Ledger, which made this the last movie of his prolific career. For the publicity of the film the studio kept in the fore front the villain, the “Joker” played by Heath, instead of the hero i.e. the “Batman”, played by Christian Bale. This seemed like a very unusual strategy since as per the rule book the savior of mankind is the one who is usually promoted the most. When I ponder over this strategy the question foremost on the mind is that whether this was chosen to make the most of the aftermath of the untimely demise of Heath or his portrayal of the character of Joker left no room for doubt as to who would be pulling the crowd to the theater (the most likely answer would be a nod to both of them). I would like to go with an affirmation to the later question because it leaves no other possibility.
In spite of being a movie buff, I had given ‘Batman Begins’ a skip. The reason behind this was that the last Batman installment, “Batman and Robin”, had left such a bad taste in my mouth that I was completely off the Batman bandwagon. I had realized that I had come off age and the comic book setting and storyline of the Batman franchise didn’t appeal to me any longer. Moreover never had heard of Christian Bale, due to which my curiosity towards the star appeal could not get tantalized. Due to these very reasons, even though “Batman Begins” hit the bull’s eye at the box office and made a mark on the mass and critics alike, I remained unaware of the cinematic history that was being created and thus missed out on the opportunity to catch it in the theaters.
I cannot deny the fact that indeed it was Heath Ledger’s death that got me aware of the making of “Dark Knight”, the sequel to “Batman Begins”. I had watched “Brokeback Mountain” and therefore knew what Heath was capable of on screen. So as the days drew nearer for the release of Dark Knight I started getting more and more attuned to the happenings and press release surrounding the movie. By then I had also watched “The Prestige” and so was no longer a stranger to Christian Bale’s acting powers. Thus my faith in the star cast had heightened my anticipation, for the movie, tremendously.
Now that I have watched the movie let me talk a little about the aftermath. First of all, after a long time I have come across a movie whose hype did it justice.
The impact of the movie, on one hand, and the performance of Heath, on the other, has been of such magnitude that every time the impact is about to lessen I feel compelled to renew it by watching another rerun. It’s not exaggeration, but Heath’s character has haunted my sleeps. The Joker’s psychotic disposition is not what has haunted me but it’s his rationalism which has. My hats off to the mind behind the conceptualization of the theme of the movie. A movie which leaves you with questions and makes you delve into yourself for the answers are very hard to come by and meant to be reckoned with. This is a movie which has joined that league and deserves to do so.
Towards the end of this passage, I would like to join millions of viewers who have voiced their support for Heath to be not only nominated but win the Oscars for Best Actor (and not Best Supporting Actor) posthumously.
Last, but not the least, I really hope that the Batman franchise has more in store for us, who have now, once again, become ardent followers of this legacy!
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