Batman redux
Jun. 19th, 2005 04:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
trinityvixenHaving seen Batman Begins twice now, I am aflush with the love of a new obsession and versed enough in the film to have it appropriately ensconced in my shoddy memory. I'm ready for a favorite activity: picking out my favorite parts.
How do I pick one or two or twenty or two thousand? The first time through Batman Begins I had my mouth open for much of the film, gaping and gasping with surprise and laughter and love for the whole thing. Things popped into place and just fit to the point of bewilderment. Seeing it for a second time prepared me for the little bits of levity that were never zingers/one-liners and yet managed to avoid being nudge-nudge, wink-wink self-knowing irony. I can settle for what struck me hardest in a film that didn’t pull punches.
1) Batman’s voice: the always excellent Kevin Conroy had really set a standard for suitable swapping of voices between Bruce’s breezy nonchalance and Batman’s rumbling intensity. Michael Keaton’s Batman didn’t speak much but his inflection barely dipped below his already fairly low voice; he relied on speed of delivery to mark the difference between the personalities. Val Kilmer spoke slowly in or out of the rubber suit, mostly so he could convince himself that, yes, that was what he was saying. Don’t ask me about George Clooney; mercifully, I don’t remember.
Then Christian Bale becomes Batman. I loved his declaration “I’m Batman,” which had the potential to be cheesy, but when compounded with the events that preceded it and the guttural growl that emphasized it, I was shaking. That the voice was developed is even better; when Bruce goes to Gordon as stealth-ninja pre-Bat, he hasn’t got the voice yet. It is something earned by wearing the cowl. I cowered as surely as Gordon’s dirty partner when Batman has him up by the short and curlies and barks in his face “Do I look like a cop!?” I would have been crying. No, no, sir, you sure don’t. When Crane gets dosed by his own fear toxin, the face he envisions is one worthy of that voice; if all you could hear was him speaking to you, who’s to say it wouldn’t be some hideous man-bat monster instead of a guy in a suit?
Did anyone else think he sounded a tad like Liam Neeson as Batman?
2) Discovering the Batcave: the swirling of bats around Bruce, his reverent posture that screams terror and deep, fulfilling satisfaction all at once. Bruce’s anger and intolerance and impatience, all swirling about without focus, crystallize into form the instant he is embraced and embraces the bat within and the bats without.
3) The entirety of his exchanges with Lucius Fox: another gambit to portray the potential plausibility of creating a character like Batman, and like most of the other risks Nolan takes, this one pays off for the film and the fans alike. Lucius’ don’t ask, don’t tell policy with Bruce sings; it respects Lucius’ intelligence as well as securing the support network that both Bruce and Batman need to do their respective parts to save Gotham.
4) Cillian Murphy’s Scarecrow: I’m scared of him before he puts on the mask, though his gleeful lack of moral quandry about whipping it out made me want to shriek with joy (I love his sense of humor, such as it is). What does that say about a villain who gets exactly none of the pathos-piloting chores of Ra’s Al Ghul or Ducard or the mob boss? I almost pity him for having to see what the Batman’s voice creates for a face. Almost. Also, he had my favorite delivery from all of the trailers, with that bemusedly psychotic pause when he says, “The Bat-man.” Only a good actor and a crazed character could pronounce the hyphen. Like five exclamation points, that’s a sign of madness as surely as ever there was one.
5) The hearing for Joe Chill: in that one instant, I actually felt bad for the guy. I bought his regret, his utter loathing of the man he’d been who would have hurt people like he had, mostly because he doesn’t forgive himself, even in front of the judge presumably looking to hear arguments for why he should let the man out of prison sooner than his sentence would have otherwise allowed. Instead of blaming the desperate times for his actions (which Rachel Dawes blithely seems to find an acceptable excuse later on) to make a case for his early parole, he accepts responsibility and loathes the self that committed such a heinous crime, which better makes the case for his having been rehabilitated and being deserving of an early parole.
It reminds me of Morgan Freeman in The Shawshank Redemption, who tries and tries and tries to say, why, yes, he is rehabilitated, only to be repeatedly shut down and only to win his freedom when he gives up and tells the truth, that he never stops thinking about the crime, but, more importantly, that he wishes he had never been that man and that, were he able to, he would have stopped that person from ever existing. Likewise, Joe Chill in that scene shows that the only way to prove yourself is to go in with nothing left to prove.
What breaks my heart is Bruce going there and saying nothing and Chill never turning around to see the boy he orphaned. Bruce just glares at the back of Chill’s head, hating this man and not caring that he’s reformed or sorry; sorry isn’t good enough but it is enough to confuse him and muddle his feelings better than Rachel’s simple ‘we need his testimony, this-is-for-the-greater-good’ spiel ever could because it appeals to his own need for ultimate justice. When the judge announces that he’s there, the expression on Chill’s face is what clinched the sincerity of his rehabilitation for me, a testament to that actor’s ability. Imagine having made the worst mistake of your life, spending a decade and a half thinking about it, presumably being haunted by the face of a small child who is now standing directly behind you. Self-loathing much? How would his facing Bruce have gone? There’s enough angst in that one moment to launch a thousand fanfictions, most of them doomed to be badly done because there is no way to write a scene that would have as little resolution as that one! And it really makes me want to hug both Bruce and Chill at the same time. It doesn’t ask we forgive Chill or reprimand Bruce for his continued anger. There are no easy answers, and Nolan doesn’t pretend he can give one. Simply genius.
New obsession? Yes, very much. I spent most of the trip to and from theKathy's graduation party thinking about various incarnations of the Batman on film and television, occasionally lightening the angst by poking fun at Superman in their various cross-over eps of the animated series. If you haven't seen them, you really, really have to. Batman comes off as a humorless curmudgeon for the most part in the WB's The Batman-Superman Adventures but his few moments of levity are a joy, and his clear superiority to a guy who thinks with his alien fists is a comfort to those of us who cheer for the black and gold over the man in the primary colors.
(Batman is beating up informants for the Joker's whereabouts in Metropolis)
Superman:[puts hand on Batman's shoulder from behind] That's enough.
(Batman throws Superman over his shoulder and into a wall without looking, continues interrogating suspect until Superman quick flies back and punches him in the head.)
Superman: I heard you were crazy, but I didn't think you were stupid.
(Superman peers through the mask to see Bruce Wayne underneath)
Superman: Bruce Wayne!?
Batman: You peeked.
*
(Lois is patching up Bruce after a fight in which he lost his cowl.)
Lois: I can't believe you didn't tell me!
Bruce: Now, I never actually said I wasn't Batman.
*
Superman: Thanks. I couldn't have saved Lois without your help.
Batman: I'm aware of that.
*
(the Joker's plane has exploded)
Harley Quinn: Puddin!
Batman: At this point, he probably is.
...aaaaaand one more, hmm?
(Bruce is flying back to Gotham, shaking hands with Clark as he leaves.)
Bruce: (talking about Lois) You better be good to her...because I know where you live.
And that's why Batman is and always will be that much cooler than Superman. Also, now we have a serious challenger to Tom Welling for title of 'sharpest-cheekboned actor to play a DC superhero' in Christian Bale. I loves me some blue-eyed hotties with cheekbones you could cut your tongue on (yes please!).
How do I pick one or two or twenty or two thousand? The first time through Batman Begins I had my mouth open for much of the film, gaping and gasping with surprise and laughter and love for the whole thing. Things popped into place and just fit to the point of bewilderment. Seeing it for a second time prepared me for the little bits of levity that were never zingers/one-liners and yet managed to avoid being nudge-nudge, wink-wink self-knowing irony. I can settle for what struck me hardest in a film that didn’t pull punches.
1) Batman’s voice: the always excellent Kevin Conroy had really set a standard for suitable swapping of voices between Bruce’s breezy nonchalance and Batman’s rumbling intensity. Michael Keaton’s Batman didn’t speak much but his inflection barely dipped below his already fairly low voice; he relied on speed of delivery to mark the difference between the personalities. Val Kilmer spoke slowly in or out of the rubber suit, mostly so he could convince himself that, yes, that was what he was saying. Don’t ask me about George Clooney; mercifully, I don’t remember.
Then Christian Bale becomes Batman. I loved his declaration “I’m Batman,” which had the potential to be cheesy, but when compounded with the events that preceded it and the guttural growl that emphasized it, I was shaking. That the voice was developed is even better; when Bruce goes to Gordon as stealth-ninja pre-Bat, he hasn’t got the voice yet. It is something earned by wearing the cowl. I cowered as surely as Gordon’s dirty partner when Batman has him up by the short and curlies and barks in his face “Do I look like a cop!?” I would have been crying. No, no, sir, you sure don’t. When Crane gets dosed by his own fear toxin, the face he envisions is one worthy of that voice; if all you could hear was him speaking to you, who’s to say it wouldn’t be some hideous man-bat monster instead of a guy in a suit?
Did anyone else think he sounded a tad like Liam Neeson as Batman?
2) Discovering the Batcave: the swirling of bats around Bruce, his reverent posture that screams terror and deep, fulfilling satisfaction all at once. Bruce’s anger and intolerance and impatience, all swirling about without focus, crystallize into form the instant he is embraced and embraces the bat within and the bats without.
3) The entirety of his exchanges with Lucius Fox: another gambit to portray the potential plausibility of creating a character like Batman, and like most of the other risks Nolan takes, this one pays off for the film and the fans alike. Lucius’ don’t ask, don’t tell policy with Bruce sings; it respects Lucius’ intelligence as well as securing the support network that both Bruce and Batman need to do their respective parts to save Gotham.
4) Cillian Murphy’s Scarecrow: I’m scared of him before he puts on the mask, though his gleeful lack of moral quandry about whipping it out made me want to shriek with joy (I love his sense of humor, such as it is). What does that say about a villain who gets exactly none of the pathos-piloting chores of Ra’s Al Ghul or Ducard or the mob boss? I almost pity him for having to see what the Batman’s voice creates for a face. Almost. Also, he had my favorite delivery from all of the trailers, with that bemusedly psychotic pause when he says, “The Bat-man.” Only a good actor and a crazed character could pronounce the hyphen. Like five exclamation points, that’s a sign of madness as surely as ever there was one.
5) The hearing for Joe Chill: in that one instant, I actually felt bad for the guy. I bought his regret, his utter loathing of the man he’d been who would have hurt people like he had, mostly because he doesn’t forgive himself, even in front of the judge presumably looking to hear arguments for why he should let the man out of prison sooner than his sentence would have otherwise allowed. Instead of blaming the desperate times for his actions (which Rachel Dawes blithely seems to find an acceptable excuse later on) to make a case for his early parole, he accepts responsibility and loathes the self that committed such a heinous crime, which better makes the case for his having been rehabilitated and being deserving of an early parole.
It reminds me of Morgan Freeman in The Shawshank Redemption, who tries and tries and tries to say, why, yes, he is rehabilitated, only to be repeatedly shut down and only to win his freedom when he gives up and tells the truth, that he never stops thinking about the crime, but, more importantly, that he wishes he had never been that man and that, were he able to, he would have stopped that person from ever existing. Likewise, Joe Chill in that scene shows that the only way to prove yourself is to go in with nothing left to prove.
What breaks my heart is Bruce going there and saying nothing and Chill never turning around to see the boy he orphaned. Bruce just glares at the back of Chill’s head, hating this man and not caring that he’s reformed or sorry; sorry isn’t good enough but it is enough to confuse him and muddle his feelings better than Rachel’s simple ‘we need his testimony, this-is-for-the-greater-good’ spiel ever could because it appeals to his own need for ultimate justice. When the judge announces that he’s there, the expression on Chill’s face is what clinched the sincerity of his rehabilitation for me, a testament to that actor’s ability. Imagine having made the worst mistake of your life, spending a decade and a half thinking about it, presumably being haunted by the face of a small child who is now standing directly behind you. Self-loathing much? How would his facing Bruce have gone? There’s enough angst in that one moment to launch a thousand fanfictions, most of them doomed to be badly done because there is no way to write a scene that would have as little resolution as that one! And it really makes me want to hug both Bruce and Chill at the same time. It doesn’t ask we forgive Chill or reprimand Bruce for his continued anger. There are no easy answers, and Nolan doesn’t pretend he can give one. Simply genius.
New obsession? Yes, very much. I spent most of the trip to and from theKathy's graduation party thinking about various incarnations of the Batman on film and television, occasionally lightening the angst by poking fun at Superman in their various cross-over eps of the animated series. If you haven't seen them, you really, really have to. Batman comes off as a humorless curmudgeon for the most part in the WB's The Batman-Superman Adventures but his few moments of levity are a joy, and his clear superiority to a guy who thinks with his alien fists is a comfort to those of us who cheer for the black and gold over the man in the primary colors.
(Batman is beating up informants for the Joker's whereabouts in Metropolis)
Superman:[puts hand on Batman's shoulder from behind] That's enough.
(Batman throws Superman over his shoulder and into a wall without looking, continues interrogating suspect until Superman quick flies back and punches him in the head.)
Superman: I heard you were crazy, but I didn't think you were stupid.
(Superman peers through the mask to see Bruce Wayne underneath)
Superman: Bruce Wayne!?
Batman: You peeked.
*
(Lois is patching up Bruce after a fight in which he lost his cowl.)
Lois: I can't believe you didn't tell me!
Bruce: Now, I never actually said I wasn't Batman.
*
Superman: Thanks. I couldn't have saved Lois without your help.
Batman: I'm aware of that.
*
(the Joker's plane has exploded)
Harley Quinn: Puddin!
Batman: At this point, he probably is.
...aaaaaand one more, hmm?
(Bruce is flying back to Gotham, shaking hands with Clark as he leaves.)
Bruce: (talking about Lois) You better be good to her...because I know where you live.
And that's why Batman is and always will be that much cooler than Superman. Also, now we have a serious challenger to Tom Welling for title of 'sharpest-cheekboned actor to play a DC superhero' in Christian Bale. I loves me some blue-eyed hotties with cheekbones you could cut your tongue on (yes please!).
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no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 02:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-06-20 02:05 pm (UTC)Superman:[puts hand on Batman's shoulder from behind] That's enough.
(Batman throws Superman over his shoulder and into a wall without looking, continues interrogating suspect until Superman quick flies back and punches him in the head.)
Superman: I heard you were crazy, but I didn't think you were stupid.
(Superman peers through the mask to see Bruce Wayne underneath)
Superman: Bruce Wayne!?
Batman: You peeked."
How could you mention that scene and not throw in Bat's response? That was the kicker of the ep.
(Superman flys back to Clark Kent's apartment and goes to bed. He sees a flashing little light attached to his costume and uses his loooooooooong range vision to search the area and finds Batman looking in on him through his window with binoculars. Batmans gives him a smile and a thumbs up)
no subject
Date: 2005-07-05 07:01 pm (UTC)I agree, I did feel some sympathy for Joe Chill, which makes Bruce's character even more interesting and slightly alien. Without that, you wouldn't have the tension between Bruce and Rachel. Kudos to the movie for going there--it brings up the theme yet again of vigilantism and when the law should be just and when it should be merciful.
his gleeful lack of moral quandry about whipping it out made me want to shriek with joy
He was just so unabashedly evil and creepy--but not over-the-top self-congratulatory about it like so many previous Batman villains. He's just amoral and slightly unhinged, but he doesn't need to make it into performance art.
"Do I look like a cop?" That made me jump out of my skin, even knowing who it was. Great moment.