Went to see this movie today, and enjoyed it for the most part. Then I got home and read this review by an online film/TV critic who questioned the nature of the movie's violence as it relates to its themes. The review didn't ruin the movie experience for me, but it did curb my enthusiasm. I think the reviewer is a little off track in blaming the movie for letting characters appear seemingly out of nowhere -- who cares where the characters are when they're not on screen? But this quote caught my attention:
For Nolan, he [the Joker] can’t just be a sadistic, psychotic clown: he has to be something of a spoiled bastard child bred by humanity’s indifference, a literal sickness made flesh
I think this is actually high praise -- the Joker is more than a sadistic, psychotic clown -- he is the id personified, as I read from another critic, and he does have a sick quality to his "jokes" that should make us moviegoers squirm. The portrayal of the Joker in this movie is quite powerful -- not as overpowering as Jack Nicholson's Joker was in the 1989 Batman movie, but more disturbing, mostly thanks to the high-quality make-up work and believable acting. The Joker isn't meant to be a sympathetic character, and I don't think this movie makes that mistake. He is compelling, though, because he has devilish ingenuity and a willingness to push the boundaries of what is acceptable. As the camera tilts from Batman's right-side up perspective to the Joker's upside-down one toward the end of the movie, the Joker unleashes his raison-d'etre speech -- a bit too much, perhaps, for some moviegoers to swallow, but I thought it was fitting for him to assert his vision of reality from such a twisted perspective. This movie goes beyond the "who created who" / chicken vs. egg dilemma of the earlier Batman movies to an even deeper level of tangled emotions. The Bat-man is conflicted throughout the movie about his role -- he's not a hero, we are reminded again at the end of the movie, but more like the dark knight -- I thought of the metaphor of a chessboard -- the knight is a necessary, powerful piece that protects what is most important. The Joker, on the other hand, is the trickster in the deck of cards that isn't necessary at all (most games don't even use the joker) but that introduces the element of surprise into a rule-abiding culture. Deeper thoughts may be prompted by the movie, but I felt it was as good as a comic-book movie can get.
2 comments:
Wow, you gave the themes a lot of thought. I don't agree with the quote, albeit I haven't read the entire review. In any case, I thought Nolan deliberately established the Joker as a character that was blank, coming from nowhere. The multiple origin stories for his scars demonstrate that the Joker had no discernible background, only one that materialized to suit the needs of whatever message he was trying to impart. At the end, the Joker did not have a grasp of the human psychology, and he took steps to ensure an outcome for his experiment that would satisfy him. It's not that "humanity's indifference" bred the Joker; it's that the Joker tried to alter the routine life of Gothamites. Yes, the Joker can be discarded in most card games, but it also frequently functions as a wild card, a card that suits the player's needs.
I wonder if the director intended to generate this much thought about the movie... It is after all a summer blockbuster.
I agree with you on most counts -- I like the idea that the Joker comes from nowhere in this movie, and you're right that the multiple "origin" stories make it seem as if the Joker has no Freudian or other psychological back story. Still, he (the Joker) could be trying to have it both ways -- he both makes things up to explain his scars, which he may have created himself, and expresses a psychological truth that some people do seem to enjoy pain (causing and feeling). He just enjoys the mayhem he creates too much. I also agree that "indifference" has little to do with the Joker's origin. He is still more than just a "sadistic, psychotic clown," though. I think that's why I tried to turn the quote on its head. Anyway, deep thoughts on a Friday night -- it's on to X-Files next, I think.
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