The Dark Knight

Here’s my take over at the Washington Times. The movie is, in a word, brilliant. It was almost difficult to review–this was the first masterpiece I’ve seen whilst on the job. If I could add one thing to my review, it would be to praise Heath Ledger’s amazing, AMAZING performance as the Joker. Terry Gilliam has denounced the studio’s campaign to get him a posthumous Oscar as empty marketing, but he’s just jealous Ledger didn’t turn in a performance like this for him in the abominable Brothers Grimm.

I will add one more thing to the discussion: This is a profoundly neoconservative film. I don’t like assigning political ideologies to films; if you remember, when I reviewed Iron Man, I said that it was neither conservative nor liberal; there was something for everyone (terrorists and corporations are equally villainous!). But The Dark Knight is different. Consider the character of Batman himself–his father was a do-gooder liberal who was shot by the very scum of the Earth he was trying to save. This event scars Bruce Wayne, sending him over the edge and turning him into a reactionary who prowls the streets dispensing vigilante justice. A better example of a “liberal mugged by reality” I can’t think of.

Though Batman typically works unilaterally, he needs to find allies. He can’t trust the Gotham City Police Department as a whole, as it is full of corruption (think: the UN). But he does turn to the heavily armed riot squad (the Major Crimes Unit) headed up by Jim Gordon–though not always the best allies, they can usually be counted on in a pinch (think: NATO). Gordon himself comes off as a Tony Blair like figure, providing cover for Batman while he does what is necessary to make the streets safe.

Enter the Joker, a force of pure malevolence. When Christopher Hitchens described Islamic terrorists as not fanatics by nihilists, this is the man he had in mind: the Joker is, as I say in my review, “a pure distillation of sociopathic id.” There is no appeasing him, and if you DO try to appease him all he sees is weakness. His campaign will escalate until society itself is ripped apart. The Joker must be stopped, and treating him with kid gloves won’t get the job done.

I could go on, but I’ll hold off for now. I’m surprised Peter Travers gave this film such a glowing review; I’d expect him to be more in line with Edelstein and Denby‘s middling takes. I have a feeling that the liberal reaction against this film will be harsh, once they realize how profoundly antagonistic it is to their world view.