Friday, 28 August 2015

"Batman Begins" Review (2005): Symbolism and Reality

Image A - Promotional Poster

Batman Begins: Review

Released: June 2005

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

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Hello there dear reader! I'm afraid this review is annoyingly long, and it doesn't even have any jokes about Christian Bale's "I'M BATMAN" line (excluding the ironic mention that I've just made) but other than that, it's maybe worth a read!

After having not watched Batman Begins in some time, I figured it was time to re-watch one of the films that arguably redefined the superhero genre and inspired gritty realism shown in many Superhero Films and Television series today.

         
The film starts out with the music by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard playing ominously as the logos for the involved film companies (Warner Bros. and DC comics) flash on the screen. This tension is broken by one of my personal favourite shots of the trilogy, a swarm of bats against an orange sky (at dawn- reflecting the start of the story and establishing the bat symbolism straight off the bat- no pun intended).

Throughout the film I found the cinematography to be mesmerising, particularly the sequences in the icy mountains and the glacier in the training montage between "Henri Ducard" and Bruce Wayne. The icy mountains are interesting as they could be seen as a visual link to the coldness inside our protagonist, and the struggles he's faced so far- broken by the warmth as he enters the League of Shadows' base. Likewise, the Long Shots of Gotham offer a rather unique colour palette yet unseen in the Batman film adaptations, as it looks very real and expansive, yet it's still believable that the city cinematography is intended for this new dark superhero genre that Christopher Nolan arguably set in motion with the first of the trilogy.

Image B - One of the first Extreme Long shots of Gotham City.
In regards to the characters, I can't fault it at all. Christian Bale (as Bruce Wayne, playboy billionaire and part time vigilante from hell) pulled off a spectacular performance as the sullen protagonist, finding his place in the world by dabbling in the criminal underworld, fighting seven guys in the mud ("I counted six, Mr. Wayne"), before finally joining a terrorist organisation hell bent on destroying his city (which they conveniently left out until he was ready to lead the men to war)- leading to his transformation into the iconic Batman, which was built up to extremely well by the writers, cinematographers (the shot of Bruce experimenting with his "wings" is quite memorable), and of course the director's vision for this iteration of the Dark Knight.

The supporting cast were just as amazing, Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes, a moral and hard working district attorney, played the role well- and her character actually did stuff, which is refreshing given there are so many films where side characters are only there for emotional support for the protagonist, and seem to have no motivation or life in a two hour running time.

"It's not who you are underneath. It's what you do that defines you." - Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes)


Everyone knows and loves Michael Caine as Alfred, and he rose to the role magnificently, playing Bruce's father figure and moral compass throughout the piece:

 "Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up." - Thomas Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth (Linus Roache and Michael Caine)


and likewise Morgan Freeman's portrayal of Lucius Fox could be seen as a definitive role for this particular character in Hollywood, much like Ledger's Joker (which I'll ramble about too much in the next review).

The antagonists is where the dynamic is at though, with the legendary Irish born actor Liam Neeson as the Head of the demon himself, Ras al Ghul- and before I go on, who else noticed this line?

"I wasn't always here in the mountains. Once I had a wife. My great love. She was taken from me."

I shouldn't find the line this funny, but seriously, just read it through a few times then try not to smile a little at the writing team's choice of words  ("Very poor choice of words" as the clown prince of crime would say in the sequel). His characterisation is interesting as he's determined to make a city full of innocents burn, yet he has morals and genuinely believes what he's doing is the right thing to do- perhaps a commentary on twisted views on morality and honour in society today.

"Then watch Gotham tear itself apart through fear" - Ras al Ghul (Liam Neeson)


Of course, every Puppet-master antagonist needs a pawn- enter Scarecrow! Played to an eerie yet delightfully evil vibe by Cillian Murphy, and terrifying people with fire breathing horses since 1992!
Murphy's portrayal being the first iteration of the character in live action film or television must have brought pressures (likewise with Neeson as Ras), but the first time he puts on the mask will always stick in my head as a brilliantly horrifying turning point in the film, his character expressing the main theme of fear in the film through nightmarish hallucinogenic visions with his signature fear toxin.

 "Would you like to see my mask?" - Dr Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy)
Image C - Cillian Murphy as "Scarecrow"
The editing in the film is interesting as well, straight cuts and a fairly conventional plethora of techniques in regards to individual scenes, but the structuring of the start by dotting past and present narrative to peel back the layers behind Bruce Wayne as a character worked extremely well given the need to show his journey to the cape and cowl- and in my opinion was the better decision opposed to the conventional yet mundane sequence of showing chronological change- which would mean there would have been an hour of nothing exciting happening, then the Batman's rise hitting the audience like a train (pun not intended, given how the film ends).

There's a particular shot in which the camera shows a close up of a Batarang on the wall before fading to Batman's introductory scene in which he apprehends a crime lord- showing through the fade that his influence will be monumental on these characters, as the Bat symbol stays in frame notably longer than a straight cut.

Symbolism, however is in the title, and there's lots to talk about in regards to symbols that recur, not just in this film but throughout the whole trilogy (which I applaud Christopher Nolan for, given how difficult consistency can be in creating film series). The symbol of masks is shown throughout the piece, not just of the obvious (Batman's cowl and Scarecrow's delightful mask of nightmare death), but of people leading different lives and hiding other sides of themselves. The corrupt police officers (Flass, particularly), having the masks of defenders of justice, yet they are the ones helping tear the city apart. "Ras al Ghul" being nothing but a diversion by the real Ras living under the guise of "Ducard" also shows that masks are everywhere in the film, so it's a good thing that Bruce put in an order for a unit of 10,000 (at least there'll be spares).

Bats as a symbol (excluding the bat signal, how does that even work?) are also there- given the protagonist and his fears, a particularly memorable sequence being the scene in which he calls "Backup" and a swarm of bats help him escape Arkham Asylum so he could save Rachel. The shot of him running past cell blocks surrounded by his winged allies is interesting, as it shows the protagonist as changed- a man and his fear, working in harmony and running past the criminality of his city. The other obvious symbolic scene being the impressively powerful shot of Bruce in the soon to be "Batcave" surrounded by a swarm of bats, unflinchingly having overcome his fear and embraced it as his persona, marking his transformation.

Image D - Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) embracing his fears in one scene.
Of course other symbols like ice and fire featured throughout, reflecting what Bruce said about becoming something "elemental" that the criminals of Gotham will fear- and painting this world in a realistic light, light and darkness, hot and cold, good and evil (Binary oppositions that any good film needs to prosper).

In all, I enjoyed it the first time around (as a huge Batman fan, I hadn't experienced a reality quite like the one that Christopher Nolan painted here prior to this), and I may have enjoyed viewing it even more this time around, as Nolan created a universe that has inspired so many darker superhero films in past and coming years, upcoming DC film "Suicide Squad" (2016), focusing on a team of misfit criminals teaming up to "do some good" could be seen as having a similar visual aesthetic as the three parts of the legendary "Dark Knight Trilogy". It all started here.


Quotes:

  • "That's the power you can't buy. That's the power of fear." - Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson)
  • "Tell them that joke you know." - Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), to Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine)
  • "I won't kill you, but I don't have to save you."-  Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale)
  • "What is the point of all those push-ups if you can't even lift a bloody log?" - Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine)

Sources:


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