The Movie List 2008: 2008-07-13

Directed by Christopher Nolan
2008 Crime Drama
Rated PG-13

*****

"A masterpiece." "The best comic book movie i've ever seen." "Ledger gives a performance that will be remembered forever." In various reviews, I have seen all of these phrases used to describe the long-awaited sequel to Christopher Nolan's reboot of the Batman franchise, Batman Begins. And I am glad to say that all are exactly correct. This is, plain and simple, the best comic book movie i've ever seen. It is a masterpiece. And Ledger does give a performance for the ages. But more than that, it's a brilliantly written, acted and directed crime drama, in the vein of Goodfellas or The Departed. Like Javier Bardem as Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men or Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs, Ledger BECOMES the Joker. You won't find a trace of the happy-go-lucky Australian from 10 Things I Hate About You or the heartbreaking tenderness of Ennis Del Mar. As the Joker, Ledger is evil incarnate. It has no rhyme or reason, no goals or greed, it just wants, as Alfred says, "to watch the world burn." However, as brilliant as Ledger is (I call the first posthumous Oscar win in over 30 years right now), it would be a travesty to ignore all the other brilliant performances. Unlike the previous film, where Christian Bale as Batman was clearly front and center, the star of the film (and rightfully so), this is, like in a film such as The Departed, an ensemble piece. Everyone gets their chance to shine. Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal; all terrific. But the other performance I really want to focus on is Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two-Face. At times, I must say I actually found myself more fascinated in the transformation of this seemingly unfallible public servant (my mind kept going to Barack Obama for some reason) into the cold-blooded murderer he becomes. And Eckhart was the perfect choice of the role. In the beginning when he's just the nice guy, he has all the charm and wit you would expect from someone who might be President someday. But when he turns, the anger that explodes out of him (perfectly coming just occasionally) is terrifying. Another mound of praise must be lavished upon the technical aspects of the film. The sound, cinematography (Chicago is absolutely perfect as Gotham), score, makeup, and art direction are all absolutely beautiful, and certainly worthy of Oscar nominations. Finally, let's talk about Chris Nolan (he directed as well as co-wrote the script with his brother Jonathan). Unlike Burton or Schumacher, who seemed to always feel that, since this is based on a comic book, there should always be a light (Burton) or HEAVY (Schumacher) camp element to the film, Nolan realizes that just because you're dealing with superheroes doesn't mean that they have to be living in an unreal world. Yes, there are unbelievable parts, but the bulk of this film is not so much a rollicking superhero adventure as it is a gritty crime drama that Scorsese and Coppola would be proud to have in their canon. An absolute must-see, neck and neck with Wall-E as the best film I have seen this year.