the duelists

Wrapped around city blocks and overflowing en masse in front of the concession stands are the droves of people fiendishly attending the church of Batman. Who would have thought a one hundred and fifty-two minute movie devoid of big name Hollywood dolls, rife with current political relevancy, and at its deepest core, a very dark, sadistic modern morality and existential play, would become the film that captures the cultural zeitgeist? Thousands, maybe even millions, of Americans have been giving their hearts and minds to Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" sequel, "The Dark Knight", since its mega-opening last week. It has broken every conceivable box office record ($200 million in five days! Highest grossing weekend for on IMAX screen! Biggest July opening ever! Cha-ching, Cha-ching!!!) and it could very well be on its way to becoming the highest grossing film of all time. According to a Fandango.com poll, sixty-four percent of people that have already seen "The Dark Knight" said they would see it again. Due to scheduling and life conflicts I wasn't able to see it until yesterday, but for many in the theater it was their third or four time. What is it about "The Dark Knight" that makes us hungry for more, eager to see it again and again? If art imitates life and what we see on the screen is a projection of us, then clearly we live in a new era where good and evil is no longer so cut and dry. To be the hero and the villain in the same flip of the coin (pun not intended) fits neatly into the current cultural fabric as well as pure pop entertainment at the megaplexes.

The idea of the superhero has never felt more poignant at the movies than in the last decade. At first what seemed like a trend like anything else, comic book movies have become an essential part of the summer movie experience. However, the new wave of superhero portrayal has become less idolized and more of an abstract to explore issues of identity, tolerance, classism, responsibility to one's community, and the struggle to use power for change. The reality-based leitmotifs might begin to explain why we project ourselves into the surreal world of these creatures. We don't want our superheroes to fight wars in some foreign universe. We need them now as reassurance that good can exist in the current world of terrorists, inept leaders, and a frantic sense that something ominous can happen next. The superheroes of today need to look like us and bleed like us. Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man is the perfect example of the geeky man-boy that fights the bad guys, but pushes his glasses up on his nose and doesn't know quite how to get the girl as Peter Parker. Jason Bourne is all brood and soulful reserve, but he can kick major ass in his capeless crusade of truth, identity, and goodness. Christian Bale's and Christopher Nolan's scripted version of Batman takes that same framework of ordinary man grappling with his power and place in the world and a breathed a new relevancy in him. He's a flagrant playboy, bored billionaire, emotionally inert due to the early death of his parents, and urban vigilante. The notion that political leaders are arbitrary comes across as clear as the mirrored skyscraper jungle Batman scales. Why allow the corrupt, inefficient leaders do the job when Batman can rid the streets of the vile crimes that plague Gotham? However, as he learns, it's not always so easy for the dark knight.

When we last saw Batman was in the early stages of understanding his power and importance in Gotham. He nestled in the smoke and shadows of Gotham before pouncing on his prey. That was my only minor frustration with "Batman Begins" is that you couldn't get a good full on glimpse of the winged one. However, Nolan established a good foundation for the re-definition of Batman. Every superhero movie has to create its own mythology and Nolan got that out of the way so that with "The Dark Knight" he can give Batman a context without having him to experience too overt of a character arch. "The Dark Knight" finds Batman wrestling with his status as hero. What does that role mean? Why him? How can he do good when people die due to his actions? Instead of demanding Bale chew such heady material, he's given two different villains to evolve his character. The Joker (Heath Ledger) is all anarchy and chaos. No rules, no rhyme or reason, constantly testing the limits of how far people will go are part of his code. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is the good natured lawyer, desperately combating the petty criminals and big time mafia outfits. Batman tells Dent he's the hero Gotham needs, a real person, a real face to associate with optimism and change. However, through a heinous accident and a duplicitous conversation, Dent's role in Gotham quickly changes. What to do in the face of a killer without a cause and a once good man now bent on revenge? Become the hero Gotham will eventually understand, not the demi-god people think they deserve.

Hero acceptance aside, the film is flat out one of the best of the year. Nolan has a perfectly tuned and entertaining predilection for stories about the dualities of man. His breakthrough film, "Memento", was about a man existing in the now but no memory of the past. In the process of realizing himself he was at constant odds with the unknown self and the aware self. In "The Prestige" warring magicians competed for the ownership of the ultimate hat trick, disappearance. A machine capable of duplication played a significant part in the tale of two men obsessed with besting each other. The paradox of killer and protector is the dueling issue at stake in "The Dark Knight." Bale plays it just right, but clearly this is Eckhart's and Ledger's movie.

Eckhart hasn't quite found the right film to display his chiseled chin and ability to plunge into the dark abyss. His devilish turn as an office guy bent on destroying the life of a deaf woman in Neil LaBute's "In the Company of Men" showcased his charm, wit, and palpable nastiness. Since then he's been stuck in forgettable romantic comedies ("No Reservations"), movies that don't connect with audiences ("The Black Dahlia"), or supporting roles in big Hollywood spectacles ("Erin Brockovich", "Paycheck"). His classic looks and square dimpled chin immediately evoke a young Kirk Douglas, whose career also got more interesting when pushed to his limits (see "The Bad and the Beautiful" for evidence). Eckhart imbues Dent with a Kennedy-like believability and ease, but when scarred for life as Two Face, the transformation Eckhart undergoes is terrifying. His star will surely resonate with audiences to come.

One star that unfortunately won't be able to continue growing, shifting, surprising is that of Ledger. His performance has been effusively lauded in the same canon of work Pacino and Brando. These aren't entirely unfounded, but The Joker is another stratosphere unrelated to Michael Corleone in "The Godfather" or Paul in "Last Tango in Paris." The level of commitment might be similar, but what Ledger is doing is so singular and personal that comparing it to anyone else is a lazy observation. All hunched shoulders, hangdog eyes, acid green-soaked hair, and Alice Cooper meets Theresa Russell's ghoulish face paint in Nicolas Roeg's "Bad Timing", Ledger goes to new depths than we've seen from previous movie baddies. As an arbiter of whim fueled nihilism, Ledger flits about the screen with nightmarish joy as he steals, kills, and terrorizes without motivation. He's phenomenally scary in the scene with Maggie Gyllenhaal at a penthouse party as he holds a knife to her face. It's almost uncomfortable to watch, not because Ledger is not with us anymore, but it's an exercise in dedication an actor can take on. His tongue darts out of his mouth to slap his wounds as he peers into Gyllenhaal's sparkling eyes, all at once dashing and demonstrative. Watching him silently dangle from a cop car amidst the blur of Gotham in the background is the shot that in a way defines the movie. He appears free and unfettered as his greasy hair flaps in the wind, but as the anti-hero to end all anti-heroes, he'll always have to have an audience or an enemy at his gates to fulfill him. A villain can never exist without a hero and Ledger purges it from every actable bone in his body.

Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Gyllenhaal all fit very nicely into their roles. Kudos to Gyllenhaal for giving the Rachel Dawes character some much needed personality and strength. Nolan's confident orchestration of actors and material is the key to the success of the film. Encouraging Ledger to make The Joker a Johnny Rottenesque sociopath or giving the Batman saga a real world context are inspired decisions that pay off in the way most big summer popcorn movies never dream of. The production design, moody score, and taut editing pace are praise worthy as well. Wally Pfister's breathtaking cinematography only adds to the visceral feeling of being enveloped in the Bat world. "Batman Begins" was all darkness and shadows, where as "The Dark Knight" is all clarity and light. Most of the action happens in window-walled offices in high rises that Pfister renders as a world of glass boxes constantly on the verge of breaking. Shots of Batman alone on a skyscraper in Hong Kong or feeling conflicted about his purpose in a sparse, minimalist apartment call to mind the poetic visual symbolism of Micheangelo Antonioni's "La Notte" or King Vidor's "The Fountainhead" where skyscrapers and its inhabitants are evidence that life above the clouds is not without its own problems. I'm glad I saw it on IMAX where the humongous screen made the cinematography really pop and the action more immediate, particularly the epic truck chase sequence that climaxes with a showdown as classic as any duel in from the wild west.

A flawless masterpiece it's not, but "The Dark Knight" is a movie for its times. The hunger people have for this movie will surely contribute to the canonization of what is one of the most unusual and satisfying popcorn movies in sometime. Audience members were literally on the edge of their seats when I saw it, which is a testament to the DNA of film. It's pop art for the masses meant to connect and allow people to discover a possible identity on the screen. This particular piece of pop art has audiences enraptured by the promise and complexities of a modern hero. And if America, and the world for that matter, has ever needed a reliable hero it's right now. Who's to say who are the true, well intentioned leaders in this world, but at least the movie superheroes can provide a sense of hope and optimism.