The Review: The Dark Knight’s Shadow Still Looms Large at the Box Office and in the Headlines

Almost a month later, The Dark Knight still reigns supreme at the box office. Yet, the continuing investigation into the circumstances of Heath Ledger’s death (ie, the MK Olsen link) make the movie’s huge success a bittersweet victory, ironically, the real life circumstances parallel the mood and tone of the film.

At the end of Batman Begins, there was a sense of hope for the future that Batman would be aggressively cleaning the streets as thoroughly as movie studios can green their on-set operations. Whereas, in The Dark Knight, hope is tainted by the rise and fall of Gotham’s white knight, Harvey Dent (the competent Aaron Eckhart). The circumstances surrounding Dent’s downfall are orchestrated by Heath Ledger’s psychotic Joker who steals the movie away from Christian Bale’s uber-stoic Batman. Ledger’s nuanced performance from the high voice he cultivates in opposition to Bale’s attempt to emulate James Earl Jones to the way he creates the Joker’s uneven movements continually draws our attention to the real talent who fell too soon. As Ledger’s final complete bow, the film’s grim mood is a complement to the dark shadow cast over the film by his death.

LD

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