‘The Dark Knight’ is a truly spectacular film. And I think I hate it…

Before I’m accused of over-analysing a summer blockbuster, I have to point out that the makers of this film–some truly talented individuals–chocked this thing so full of quandaries and dilemmas; packed it with ruminations on chaos and instances of game theory¹; and then topped it all off by placing it in the kind of giant Straussian² laboratory that would’ve made it great viewing, in good times³, for the oval office. They were asking for such an analysis and, as someone who tires of impressive visuals quickly, I’m ready to give it.

There can be no question that this is a brilliant film. The director, Christopher Nolan, is a European filmmaker of the latest generation⁴, meaning a foreigner who’s come to understand what makes great American Cinema better than the snot nosed high brow young Americans now filling our film schools. His direction, the cinematography, and the performances are of a quality rarely seen in a movie of such massive appeal. But Mr. Nolan is–again, in the best American traditions–a smuggler⁵ and uses Batman and, the real main character, Gotham to address much larger issues.

Batman is a hero, but not the same hero as that Aryan fop over in Metropolis; he doesn’t do good and evil. His intentions aren’t always pure and his very existence is not that of an over-zealous Samaritan, but a revenger who doesn’t always know when to stop. In the opening moments of the film a silly Batman impersonator gets told off by the real deal for “playing around”, to which the imposter replies, “well, what makes you special?”

It’s an excellent question and, sadly, never gets answered. Why does one man get to decide when the law is important and when it’s not? Batman has enough weaponry to destroy Gotham, a surveillance system that would make our Vice President salivate, and unimpeded access to every inch, private or not, within the city. That all of this is put to good use, well, relies largely on how Batman’s feeling today because the cops and politicians all seem to be playing along. So, Batman isn’t about good & evil; he is about truth and justice, but rarely about freedom. His new “partner” Harvey Dent admits as much in one scene; remembering, with a gleam in his eye, that the Romans occasionally declared dictatorship in the name of the greater good.

There’s been a lot of talk about the “new” Joker and the “different” way in which the late Heath Ledger played him. But the difference with this joker is not in his mannerisms or motivations, but in the fact that he’s not a villain. He’s no more a character than gravity or time; he is, like those things, a force and, again like those things, a certainty. His plans will succeed, he won’t be destroyed or hurt. He is one more element that Batman has to deal with, but he isn’t Batman’s enemy, again, any more than the minutes that prevent him from defusing a bomb or the wind that stop him from flying.

So who then is the enemy? Unfortunately, from what I can tell: You are. The masses, Gotham’s citizenry; they’re the villains– panicky, fearful, and generally wrong; they need myths, not the truth; they need comfort and lies; not reality. They need to be watched and herded like children, their opposition to these things being only because they don’t know any better, can’t know any better. Seriously, shut up and stay out of the anointed one’s way!

Can freedom not co-exist with truth and justice? I’m not a libertarian, but is a safe dictatorship really worth it? Nolan knows that these things are more than simple plot points, as does every New Yorker, as does, in these times, everyone everywhere. An unelected, unappointed man gets free rein to watch, monitor, and attack; simply because things are a little dangerous.

I ask again, what makes him so special?

Author’s Note: I used to call these things ‘Something of a film review’, this one is ‘Nothing of a film review’ I know, but, anyway, go ahead, see the thing and tell me what you think.

1. I’m not kidding here, there’s a scene involving two boats that’s straight out of a applied mathematics textbook [↩]
2. That’s Leo Strauss. The ideological godfather of Neoconservatism. A true Spartan and a firm believer in placating the masses. [↩]
3. I don’t think any of the people who’d appreciate it are still working for the president, if not incarcerated [↩]
4. I include in this list Paul Greengrass, whose Bourne series sits much better with me. [↩]
5. This was a term coined by Martin Scorcese to describe certain golden-age directors, in his wonderful Journey. [↩]