Saturday, October 25, 2014

The Films of Christopher Nolan: The Dark Knight Rises





INTRODUCTION

            The 8th film in my continuing analysis of The Films of Christopher Nolan is the final chapter in The Dark Knight Trilogy: The Dark KnightRises. Like its predecessor, Rises, (or TDKR) is a genre bending masterpiece; seamlessly weaving together a disaster picture, and a war movie into a Batman film. This eclectic mix of genres, score, cinematography, writing and direction along with the conclusion of Batman/Bruce Wayne’s story (started in BatmanBegins) elevates this film into the stratosphere.  Additionally, the technical craftsmanship, superb acting, and multi-layered plot make Rises a rare commodity: a satisfying third film of a trilogy that is so emotionally gripping and powerful, that it enriches the overall experience of the entire trilogy itself.




HISTORICAL CONTEXT

            Even before production began on TDKR, the film was marred by controversy and unrealistic expectations. First, the death of Heath Ledger in January of 2008 fundamentally reshaped the tone and plot of any potential third film. Originally, before Ledger’s passing, it was widely assumed that he (as The Joker) would return in the third film.  After Leger died, Team Nolan took an extra year (The Dark Knight Rises coming out 4 years after The Dark Knight instead of the typical three years) to break the story and write the screenplay. From outside interviews, Nolan has said that it was the inclusion of the 8 year gap (time laps between The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises) that was the catalyst for the story.  This would allow Nolan to create a story about the end of Batman and Bruce Wayne’s career, something that has never been put on screen, thereby completing Bruce Wayne’s journey and the trilogy itself.
            Secondly, the film had to complete with the expectations set by the critically acclaimed, award winning, and immensely popular The Dark Knight. A movie that has become more than just a product of our culture; but a part of it. Even in the few years since its release, The Dark Knight has completely changed the superhero genre, giving it more legitimacy and validity as a respected medium of filmmaking. This was a once in a lifetime experience of a film that cinematically captured the social issues of domestic terrorism and surveillance illustrating, albeit dramatically, with a “taste for the theatrical, the fears that we live with in modern society.   Add to that the film being punctuated by the death of Heath Ledger and you get a recipe for greatness that is hard, if not impossible to replicate. 
            With such lofty expectations coming off of a successful and culturally impactful film that The Dark Knight (TDK) became, two things happened:
1) Nolan’s third film was never (at least in the eyes of the public, and maybe a lot of fans) going to live up to its predecessor.  This was, in part, due to the longer four year gap between the second and third films in the trilogy. During that time, fans were able to speculate and create hypothesis on how the next film was going to continue the Batman story[1]. The long production schedule involved in filmmaking allowed many fans, and the public, to become married to their version of what the third film would be. This inevitably would leave them dissatisfied, annoyed and even a bit angry that they didn’t get the film that they wanted, one that they built up in their heads for years. Thus for many a Batman fan, they were setting themselves up for disappointment years before they even stepped into the theatre to watch the completed film. 
            2) The Cultural Capital garnered by The Dark Knight could not be repeated for TDKR. As I mentioned in my review for The Dark Knight, much of the film’s gargantuan success was due to the character of The Joker, Heath Ledger’s performance, and his death; the studio cashing in (quite unintentionally) on the public’s morbid curiosity; causing them to flock to the theatres to see Ledger’s final fully completed performance.  Through the tragedy that was Ledger’s death lead to the Dark Knight receiving even more positive buzz and good word of mouth; and while The Dark Knight Rises did have its share of tragedy surrounding it, it was one that hurt the overall domestic box office rather than help it.
            On July, 20th 2012 at a 12am screening[2] of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, CO; James Holmes (wearing tactical military gear and brandishing an arsenal of weaponry that included a shot gun, a semi-automatic rifle, a handgun, and smoke and tear gas canisters) entered the theater through an emergency exit and began firing into the crowd.  The crowd was slow to react to Holmes, as many of them believed that he was in costume for the event (much like many other patrons) or was part of the Theatre’s publicity stunt to promote the film.  It was only when the tear gas canisters went off did people begin to panic.  In the ensuing mayhem 12 people were murdered and another 82 people were injured.
            This tragedy left a taint on the film that kept the film from surpassing The Dark Knight in terms of both popularity and domestic box office numbers. Additionally, it all but killed the positive word of mouth, I believe the film would have received (in fact you could assume that the film’s ability to do so well despite this tragedy is a testament to just how good Rises actually is). Many people were afraid to go to the movies at all after the shooting let alone The Dark Knight Rises. This was exacerbated by Holmes dying his hair orange and calling himself “The Joker” and the news media initially labeling the shooting “The Batman Massacre”. Also, one of the film industry’s (many and rightful) responses to the shooting was to pull its advertising of the film (trailers and TV spots) and canceling premieres; limiting the film’s exposure.  This resulted in The Dark Knight Rises to make around 86 Mil less than TDK domestically, and only 166,000,000 more internationally (and adjusting for the 65 million dollar increase in the production budget for Rises) equating to the film only surpassing The Dark Knight by 14 Million dollars much of that due to inflation and the overseas market. Yet, regardless of its lackluster success by comparison. The Dark Knight Rises is still a film worthy of social analysis and a much deserved ‘feather in the cap’ of Christopher Nolan and his team (especially Wally Pfister).



PLOT

The sacrifices made by Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) at the end of The Dark Knight have bought Gotham City 8 years of peace and prosperity; but not without great personal cost. Bruce Wayne was scarred and crippled (both physically and emotionally) in his battles with The Joker and Harvey Two-face. Also, by taking responsibility for the latter’s crimes and death, his persona of Batman became the subject of a city wide manhunt that caused him to retire immediately. Three years prior to the start of the film, Bruce was continuing to improve Gotham through a clean energy project with Miranda Tate (Marion Cotillard) until it was revealed that the device could be turned into a weapon. Bruce decided to shut down the program (at great financial cost) and became a recluse.
            Meanwhile, Gordon was left alone to maintain the lie that he and Batman concocted in order to save the city.  Because of the lie the Gotham City passed “The Dent Act” which eradicated organized crime and warehoused over 1,000 inmates. Every year the city celebrates “Harvey Dent Day” where Gordon has to sing the praises of a man who tried to murder his family, while vilifying his friend.  The result of which caused his wife to leave Gotham with their children.
            A suspicious encounter with a jewel thief (Anne Hathaway) and the arrival of mercenary known only as Bane (Tom Hardy) leads Bruce to don the cape and cowl again.  Aided by Gordon, Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), and a rookie beat cop (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) Bruce challenges Bane (and his army) much to the protests of Alfred (Michael Caine).
            Left to die in “the worst hell on earth” after his crushing defeat at the hands of Bane, Bruce watches as his city is burned, broken and terrorized; forcing its citizens to compromise their morality. Determined to save the city, Bruce heals and rebuilds his body, and by escaping captivity becomes “The Batman” once again ready to challenge Bane (and his compatriots) in a final battle for the soul of Gotham.



GENERAL ANALYIS

            This is the most ambitious Nolan film to date (notice this review was written before the release of Nolan’s 2014 space epic Interstellar). The scope and the grand scale of the story is remarkable. As stated in the introduction, this film is a genre bending amalgamation of pure cinematic brilliance and technical mastery. It dares the audience to throw away the conventional attitudes of filmmaking and storytelling and is bold enough to complete a story in a culture of filmmaking that is always looking for the next franchise.  To this end the film has general themes that need to be discussed before a deeper, more Sociological analysis can be given.

            Theme 1: Pain.
           
                        “I was wondering what would break first…Your spirit, or your body!”- Bane

            In doing press for the film Christopher Nolan as well as many members of the cast mentioned that the main theme in The Dark Knight Rises is Pain. Like the previous films in the franchise, the theme is embodied by the film’s antagonist(s) of Bane and Talia much in the same way The Scarecrow and Ra’s al Gul embodying the theme of Fear in Batman Begins and The Joker was the embodiment of Chaos’ Theme in The Dark Knight. However, it cannot be overlooked that while there are anthropomorphic representations of these thematic elements in each of the films villains, these themes also mark the character development of Bruce Wayne throughout the series. While on the surface, you could see that the physical confrontations between Batman and the film series’ rouges gallery is an external representation of Bruce’s internal conflict to overcome Fear, Chaos and Pain respectively. Yet, it is also from each of these conflicts that Bruce grows and is able to deal with all the tragedy he has experienced in his life.[3]
In TDKR, Bane and Talia inflict their pain on the entire city, but their focal point is Bruce Wayne/Batman.  The pain that each of them wrought is experienced in different ways by Bruce Wayne.  Bane provides Bruce with physical and psychological pain, by breaking his body and terrorizing all that he cares about. Talia provides Bruce with emotional and spiritual pain by offering him a life after Batman and with (a quite literal) knife in the back, strips that away tearing down all that he holds dear. Bruce’s triumph over pain is cinematically symbolized in his escape from “The Pit”. Not only does he have to remake his body in order to climb out of the prison, but in the process he learns to let go of the anger and pain that he has been ruled by most of his life. This epiphany allows him to be able to let Batman go by films end no longer needing the persona, and able to live a healthy complete life.

Theme 2: Completing the Story

            The other general theme that the film focuses on besides pain is the completion of Bruce Wayne’s journey and the end of the Legend of Batman.  To do that The Dark Knight Rises harkens back to what was initially set up in Batman Begins. While the reintroduction of the character’s at the beginning of the film is a result of the events of The Dark Knight, the progression and conclusion of Rises comes from the seeds planted in Begins.

“I AM the League of Shadows; here to fulfill Ra’s al Gul’s destiny!” – Bane

The first of those seeds is Bane himself being a former member of the League of Shadows trained by Ra’s al Gul, and the reveal of Ra’s daughter Talia. Their inclusion in the story represents a complete story arc over the three films. There is a lot of parallels between the stories and character arcs of Bruce, Bane and Talia because of their shared history with Ra’s al Gul. All three of them are Ra’s children. Bruce being the prodigal son and Ra’s greatest student that turns his back on him. Bane is the dutiful son that is starved of his father’s attention, while Talia is the rebellious daughter that challenges her father’s decisions. Aside from providing character parallels, the return of the League of Shadows also allows for a symmetry in storytelling, thereby setting the stage for a conclusion to Bruce’s story.

“Why do we fall Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.”-Thomas Wayne

The other seed that is planted is the thematic comparisons between “The Well” in Begins and “The Pit” in Rises. “The Well” in Batman Begins is the catalyst to Bruce’s fear of bats. It is this fear that will lead to him using it as a symbol/weapon against criminals. Yet, “The Well” also represents Bruce’s guilt and shame over his parent’s murder. It was his fear caused by his fall into “The Well” that made his parents leave the theatre which lead to their deaths. And even though Thomas Wayne’s last words to his son were “…don’t be afraid.” This lead to Bruce feeling that fear was a weakness that needed to be overcome.  He consciously buried his fear with anger. Bruce believed that if he wasn’t afraid he wouldn’t have had to be rescued from “The Well” by his father and by extension could have done something to stop his parents from being murdered. 
When Bruce is placed in “The Pit” after his defeat at the hands of Bane. Bruce believes that if he builds himself up again and if he has no fear, relying again on anger that he will prevail. A mindset that causes him to fail to climb out of “The Pit” on two separate occasions. Each time he becomes more and more demoralized and despondent almost residing himself to his fate until he gets a reeducation from a fellow inmate: 



             

            Here the inmate explains how fear can be a powerful motivator.  Before this realization, Bruce was so angry at death for taking his parents that he desired, protected and valued all life, even his own. But after Bruce’s successful climb from “The Pit” which is a (not so) subtle proxy for “The Well” he fell down as a child, Bruce’s respect for life no longer came from a place of anger, it was from the fear of losing it. In this way, when Bruce stands up after his successful climb, he is the most complete version of himself and the strongest, driven, and determined Batman, because he is no longer using his persona as a source of self-medication or as a cycle of self-destruction. In that moment, and for the rest of the film, he is the purest embodiment of Will on screen[4]. Even overshadowing his comic book counterpart.

SOCIAL ANALYSIS

            The Dark Knight Rises is rich with sociological detail to analyze.  All of Christopher Nolan’s films (especially his Dark Knight Trilogy) while not attempting to have specific social commentary about a particular issue, seem to embody the current zeitgeist.  Nolan is able to do this completely that people are able to read in and interpret the film in multiple way based upon individual experience and personal analysis. What may be obvious and glaring to one person is more hidden and subsumed. Here lies Nolan’s brilliance; being able to create something for mass consumption, while still giving patrons their own individual experience. As a Sociologist, I take the Critical, Power Conflict and Post-modern approach to almost anything that I analyze. Because of this, it was easy to follow the breadcrumbs from Marxism through the French Revolution.

Theme 3: Marxism, and the French Revolution

“Each time a city reaches the pinnacle of its decadence, we return to restore the balance.” 
-          Ra’s Al Gul
            As a Conflict Theorist, Marx identified that the inevitable social conflict was going to eventually be between “The Bourgeoisie” and the “Proletariat”. A class conflict which gives The Bourgeoisie (who own the means and social relationships of production) wealth that is not based in their own labor, but through stocks and other kinds of equity and assets.  The proletariat however only have their labor to sell. One could make the analogy between selling your body for a service job and prostitution.  Yes, the exploited labor isn’t being overtly sexualized but both industries thrive when bodies are being used in a disposable fashion.  Additionally, each person in the analogy is selling some aspect of their body and the energy exerted for compensation.
            The Conflict stated above, along with the hypocrisy of Capitalism through the internal contradiction of capital accumulation leads to the inevitable result of the exploitation of the labor market and the exploitation of consumers through the price of the product. This is because the owners (bourgeoisie) can only maximize their profits (the central theme of capitalism) by what they can completely control; namely the cost of their labor force and the price of their product.  The results of which are a series of social problems: Sweatshops, price gouging, a multitude of human rights abuses and a bifurcated class system of the haves and the have nots. The lie concocted by Gordon and Batman bought Gotham 8 years of peace but in that time the social class divisions have become so stratified (e.g. Marxism above) that the people were primed for Bane to exploit their desire for revolution. 


           
“There’s a storm coming Mr. Wayne…when it hits you’re all going to wonder how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us.”    - Selina Kyle

            The following sequences in the film illustrate the kind of Proletarian revolution that Marx believed was inevitable. That the wealthy would be torn from their homes and put on trial.  While Marxism wasn’t a conscious theme for Team Nolan, one can see its influences especially with the French Revolutionary feel they were trying to create for Bane in his demeanor, costuming (and the costuming of his men) speeches etc. (Even Blackgate prison was a stand in for the French Bastille) regardless of the fact that it was a ruse to hide his true motives.[5]
To that end, rather than be an actual proletarian revolutionary, Bane represents (in these moments) embodies Gotham’s Symbolic Violence a Bourdieuian term meaning “the capacity to impose the means for comprehending and adapting the social world by representing economic and political power in disguised taken for granted forms…the dominated accept as legitimate their own condition of domination.”[6] Thus, many of the people accept Bane’s motivations are genuine when his true purpose is to psychologically torture Bruce Wayne (through the “poisoning” and destroying of the city) and the fulfillment of Ras’ Mission. 



Not the Occupy Movement

            Some attempts at a social analysis of this film have sited that the class conflict shown in the TDKR is a representation of The OccupyMovement. Regardless of the fact that this is simply inaccurate considering the length of time major film like this take to make (meaning that the script was written far before the occupy movement became an international social issue in 2011), the issues and the conflict are not the same.
  Firstly, The Occupy Movement’s slogan “We are the 99%.” while invoking the very Marxian idea of the Proletariats against the Bourgeoisie (represented mathematically as the 1% with this phrase), and showing solidarity between anyone who isn’t part of the “super rich”, this is not the reality that they live in. This is because privilege in this country is not only granted through wealth.
 Max Weber points out that class status is defined by Education as well as wealth, and what he calls, the three P’s(Property, Prestige, and Power). Additionally, Bourdieu mentioned several times how a person’s cultural capital: the value of a person’s knowledge skills and experiences, is conditional on the social setting and environment (i.e. what you know). As an example, knowledge of survival skills mean little in a “first world” country, but trapped alone on an island, they become invaluable. Bourdieu mentions that a person’s social capital: The value of a person’s social relationships within a particular social setting suffers the same fate.  So the idea that class division itself is only about wealth is both ignorant, naïve and wrong.  Outside of the determinants of social class itself the 99% slogan does not take into account the intersectionality of Social Class with other demographics, namely Race and Gender.
Intersectionality is a Sociological term to explain how all aspects of inequality (class, race, gender, sexuality, disability etc.) are interconnected like a spider’s web[7]. This is why the fight against structural, covert and invisible levels of inequality are so difficult to overcome; it has been integrated and embedded in our social institutions (creating income, housing, occupational discrimination) as well as normalized through our every actions and behaviors (the use of language to reinforce someone as “other” or less than such as “I’m not racist but…”, racial jokes, feminism, the word female its derivatives and synonyms). Therefore, when a slogan like “We are the 99%.” is touted, it is ignoring the very real privileges that people are afforded to them because of their skin color and their gender. Thus, when a such as slogan attempts to be all inclusive, through being both color blind and gender blind, it ignores the very unequal realities of women and people of color.

"The point, was that Batman could be anybody." -Bruce Wayne.

Secondly, the conflict between Bane and the police is not fully formed to be a parallel to the Occupy movement, with Bane being on the people, and the police the side of order (and the super-rich). One review I read went so far to say that this was illustrated by the fact that the police were led by one of Gotham’s super rich (i.e. Bruce Wayne/Batman).  However, there are several contradictions to this assessment.  During the scene of the heist at the stock exchange, the dialogue between the police and a stock trader outlines the police as “of the people.” Yet, if this is the case, it is contradicted by Bane saying that he is giving Gotham to the people (wouldn’t he also give it freely to the police as well…which he doesn’t), and during the final confrontation between Bane and his army and Batman and the police in the climax. By this assessment, “the people” rise up to take their city back from Bane solidifying its own contradiction
Also, I could make the opposite assessment by saying that once Bruce Wayne lost his money, it legitimated that he could lead the people of Gotham in taking back their city. However, I am unwilling to put too much stock in this idea either because the people of Gotham do not realize Bruce Wayne and Batman are the same person by the end of the film. Since they don’t know that they are the same person, Bruce Wayne is still seen as part of “the 1%” whereas Batman remains a symbol of the people (see the above quote) which was Bruce’s whole goal of the Batman persona to begin with. Thus, it is a false analysis to say that this film has parallels to the Occupy movement because A) Bane does not represent the people, Batman does, and B) Bane whole purpose (as described above) was not about liberation, it was about control and destruction.

Feminism and Gender Bending
            One of the most legitimate and resounding criticisms I have had through this sociological review of the films of Christopher Nolan has been his portrayal of women.  His films, up up to this point, have featured paper thin two dimensional female characters that have been there only for the plot or to advance the story of the (usually white) male protagonist. None of his prior films pass the Bechdel test, and many of the female characters die or are killed fulfilling the not only the damsel in distress trope (e.g. Rachel in Batman Begins) but the women in refrigerators trope as well (e.g. Rachel in The Dark Knight).  In The Dark Knight Rises, it seems that Nolan has finally turned a corner.  Not only does he have two major female characters as part of the main cast (Anne Hathaway’s Selina and Marion Cotillard’s Miranda), both of which have detailed character arcs and rich three dimensional backstories; but Nolan also includes important secondary character in Jen (Juno Temple) who’s presence allows the film to pass the aforementioned Bechdel Test. In addition to that, it was nice to see female police officers fighting Bane’s army in the final battle.
            The use of Bane’s backstory in the film also gave Nolan an opportunity for gender bending.  During the second act sequence when Bruce is recovering in “The Pit” he hears the story of a child who was born in the prison and escapes. Even though we see this sequence play out in front of us, because Nolan kept a lot of gender identifiers neutral, the audience assumes, as Bruce does, that it was Bane that made the climb out. When it is revealed that the child was Ra’s daughter Talia (Marion Cotillard), Nolan is commenting on how gendered expectations can be easily manipulated in stories without other, culturally specific gender identifiers (albeit subtly). It might be a stretch, but one could also suppose that this gender bending is a commentary on the expectations of masculinity and preying upon devaluing of women in our culture.


 In many action films, especially in the superhero genre, women are just starting to be seen on (semi) equal footing. I still argue, however; that women being seen on equal terms with men in popular culture still comes at the cost of women retaining their sex appeal. While this is still true in Rises, Nolan is able to use the audience gendered expectations against them. The audience assumes that it is Bane who climbs out of the prison, not only because that is what they are told through the story, but because it is something that they have seen in film 100 times over: a young white male finding the courage to overcome adversity. It is hard to say, (though it could be inferred) if Nolan was preying upon the weak female stereotype. If he wasn’t directly alluding to it, the stereotypical assumption that women are too weak to make such a climb certainly helped with his misdirection, setting up the twist reveal at the end. Also, we do see a number of men try and fail to climb out of “The Pit” (Bruce Wayne even attempting twice before success), adding fuel to the normalized stereotype.



CHARACTERS

            Bruce 

            The Dark Knight Trilogy is the story about Bruce Wayne.  The Dark Knight Rises is how his story ends.  As mentioned above, the journey of Bruce Wayne is how he learns to deal with the loss of his parents and the emptiness that it caused.  Starting with Batman Begins, In order to make a difference in his city, one that makes sure his parent’s death was not in vain, he adopts the persona of Batman as a symbol to inspire people to be better, that the people of Gotham are good decent people, just misguided by the criminals and the corrupt.  However, in the also uses that persona as therapy (to express his anger and suppress his fear) which fast becomes an addiction as to Rachel’s point The Dark Knight.
When the audience catches up with Bruce at the beginning of Rises, not only is he physically the shell of the man he once was, his 8 year “cold turkey” withdrawal from his Batman addiction coupled with a fresh failure of trying to help the city as Bruce Wayne has left him in fragile psychological state.  Christian Bale (who gives his best performance here as the character) plays with these aspects, including hints at possible mental illness, through sporadic mid-sentence accent and inflection changes in his voice, and mannerisms that suggest dis-associative disorder.  Yet, when the chance arises for Bruce to be Batman again, like an alcoholic falling off the wagon (because the withdrawal symptoms are so bad) Bruce jumps at the chance.   
            One of the criticisms of TDKR, especially concerning Bruce Wayne, is that he has to build himself back into Batman twice in the film, seeming redundant.  I contest that he is not fully “Batman” in the film until he climbs out of “The Pit”; learning to embrace fear and life again. Alfred says as much to Bruce on two separate occasions in the film. First when he attempts to go out as Batman for the first time:

Alfred: “You can strap up your leg, and put your mask back on; but that doesn’t make you what
                were.”

And then immediately when Bruce returns

Bruce: “You thought I didn’t have it in me.”
Alfred: “You don’t. You lead the cops on a merry chase with a load of new toys from Fox.”

 Even before Bruce meets Bane, whenever Bruce is fighting the League of Shadows, Bale includes subtle signs of effort and physical straining tin his performance that wasn’t there in the previous films. Additionally, when he does meet Bane the depths of just how lost he is begins to sink in as he can do Nothing to injure or hinder Bane. 



Bane was the mechanism by which Bruce was removed from the state of False Consciousness about his health and abilities that the armor and the weaponry secured. It was only when he was physically and spiritually broken, stripped away of all his delusions of grandeur, and his death wish could he hope to build himself up back into the man that he was; even better than before.[8]

“You will never learn.” – Ra’s al Gul  

            One of the most consistent character traits of Nolan’s Bruce Wayne is he constantly underestimates his opponents. He believes that he can intimidate and bully the Scarecrow in Begins, he is unable to assess The Joker as a dangerous threat at the start of The Dark Knight and he believes that Bane is just a mercenary who can be beaten if he just fights hard enough at the beginning of Rises.  While I understand this is more realistic, this particular character trait leads him to actions or inactions that put him and or others in danger. This is one aspect of Bruce’s character that I wish was more influenced by the comics: A Batman so cynical and jaded that he prepares for every eventual outcome, even betrayal.
            Regarding the notion of betrayal, another departure from the comics is that Nolan’s Bruce Wayne is always looking for the best in people.  This goodness is rewarded (mostly) with betrayal. Selina betrays him to Bane (to stop them trying to kill her) and he is betrayed by Miranda once she reveals she is Talia. Nevertheless both female characters are positioned in the film as potential romantic partners for Bruce. Yet, out of the two Bruce’s relationship with Selina is more genuine.  They flirt and have a natural chemistry both in and out of costume. Whereas Miranda (we find out later) is just preying upon him, seducing him and taking away his edge as he goes to meet Bane. 
It is important to note that while the inclusion of Selina Kyle in this film was almost an afterthought (Nolan needed convincing from his brother Jonathan) she is integral in both getting Bruce out of his state of limbo at the beginning of the film; And, more importantly giving Bruce a life beyond Batman and Gotham. She represents his first real adult relationship, and his perfect compliment.


 
Selina


            Selina Kyle in The Dark Knight Rises is Nolan’s representation of feminism.  She has agency in both her identity and sexuality and she is one of if not the first three dimensional female character in a Nolan film that is a non-archetype/trope.  What is interesting is the way Selina plays off the gendered expectations that others have using her gender master status[9] as a way to manipulate the situation and get what she wants.  In several instances in the film she uses her sexuality to disarm her prey (such as Congressman Gilly) or uses frightened female routine to avoid suspicion. One of the best examples of this is the “Catwoman” reveal at the beginning of the film. When Bruce Wayne finds her, he startles her by shooting an arrow by her head. She attempts to act frightened hoping that will allow her true intensions to be masked.  Bruce, being the detective that he is, doesn’t buy it and Selina has to drop the act.  And with a simple “Oops.” Selina true nature is revealed, and she captures the attention of both Bruce and the audience.  


            Unfortunately, there is one aspect of Selina’s story that is left unresolved in the film, and that is her relationship with Jen (Juno Temple). I assume this is a call back to the relationship that Selina has with Holly in Batman: Year One.  In the comics, this relationship was forged out of necessity.  Selina and Holly (again Jen in the film) were prostitutes working under the same sleazy pimp which causes her to have her first run in with Bruce Wayne (undercover as a street thug at the time). There are hints at this prostitute backstory in the way that Jen would lure guys into their apartment and then steal from them.

Once you’ve done what you’ve had to, they will never let you do what you want to.” Selina

   However, as the film builds to its climax we do not see Selina and Jen together once Bruce returns to Gotham.  It seems like that relationship is dropped for Selina’s relationship with Bruce.  As a Sociologist that studies gender and sexuality, I am disappointed in Nolan for not having some type of resolution to this relationship.  It would have been nice to see Jen be the one to lead the people out of the tunnel that Selina unblocked with the Batpod; then we could get a satisfying character moment between them. Instead the only female/female friendship in the entire trilogy is cast aside to focus on the heterosexual romantic love interest.  I do not think this was the intent or even a conscious choice on the part of the filmmakers, but it is a constant occurrence in films such as these; a representation of our cultural hetero-normativity denying what Adrianne Rich calls “The Lesbian Existence”[10]

Bane 


                                    “No one cared who I was until I put on the mask.” Bane

            When Bane was first announced as the main antagonist for The Dark Knight Rises I was a bit skeptical.  I did not think he was a terribly fleshed out character in the comics (at the time I had yet to read Gail Simone’s take on Bane in Secret Six) and I only knew him as the person who broke Bruce Wayne’s back and his awful portrayal in Batman and Robin. Yet, the more I heard about Bane’s role in the film, and the more I read of him in the comics to prepare, I realized that there was no other choice. I became convinced once Tom Hardy was cast and I heard that the voice that he was crafting for Bane was going to be Eastern European with a hint of Irish gypsy.  His Bane voice was so good, it became quite popular among fans.
            As I mention in a previous post, a lot of Batman’s villains (in the comics and in Nolan’s trilogy) are reflections of himself. Bane in TDKR represents what Bruce would have become if he would have stayed with Ra’s. His dedication and humanity would have been warped to serve extreme ecological terrorism.  Bane is charismatic, brutal and dedicated. He inspires loyalty in his subjects and commands respect. This is illustrated in the opening “Prologue”. 




            It needs to be mentioned that in the film, Bane is a person with a disability; he suffers from chronic pain. The drug venom in the comics is replaced with a narcotic gas that numbs him to the pain.  This allows Bane to go past normal human body limits and build his body into a devastating weapon because he has no sense of pain to stop him.  Unfortunately here, Nolan again falls into the disability film trope of the villain having a physical disability as a short hand to show that he is also evil ( as he did with The Joker in The Dark Knight). But even this is turned on its head by the films end. Allowing Bane to be humanized seeing that he is more like Anakin Skywalker (Darth Vader) than just surface comparisons.

Talia

I never thought that we would be able to see Talia al Gul on screen.  When Marion Cotillard was cast, it was the worst kept secret that she was Talia.  However, the film is so long, and so much happens, that you almost forget about it until her reveal. As with her father’s deception using the alias “Ducard” in Batman Begins, everything that Talia does as Maranda is in the service of her overall mission. This is where viewing the film multiple times allows the viewer to see all of the little sabotages that Talia causes as Maranda:
1)      Gaining the trust of Alfred and Lucius in order to prey on Bruce
2)      She uses her relationship with Bruce to gain access to Wayne Enterprises by inflating the threat of John Dagget
3)       She uses her position at Wayne Enterprises to gain access to the clean energy project that she can turn into a bomb
4)      Exploits Bruce’s feelings of loss and pain over Rachel and Alfred
5)      Sleeps with Bruce and gives him dreams of a happy future right before confronting Bane to take his edge off
6)      Joins Gordon’s resistance to gain intel and sabotage all their efforts
                            She tells Bane where to find the Special Forces
                            She marks the wrong truck that is supposed to have the bomb
                            She has Gordon and their men ambushed

All of this was done as Talia was masquerading as Maranda.  But when Talia finally reveals herself. She is powerful, strong, capable and scary.  She is the only one in the entire trilogy to make Bruce beg; because he realized that she had won, her deception was near perfect. If Bane is Anakin, she is the Emperor. The menace that is in the shadows waiting for the right moment to strike.



Gordon

            Gordon, like Bruce, is emotionally scarred by the events of The Dark Knight. Keeping up the lie about Harvey Dent for the sake of Gotham has caused him the loss of his family.[11] Like so many of our US soldier he is a war hero that does not know how to adjust to peace time/civilian life.  In TDKR, Gordon does share a lot of similarities with vets of our current western conflict.  Not only is he emotionally damaged by his time at war and his inability to adjust causes him to jump right back into the fray getting himself hurt in the process. Then, later, he becomes the defacto General in the War against Bane.  It is unfortunate that, like Bruce, Gordon couldn’t let go of all that he’d seen and done. I would have liked to see Gordon reunited with his family at the end.


Blake

            In my review of Nolan’s The Prestige I mentioned that one of Nolan’s approaches to filmmaking is treating it like a three part magic trick. In John Blake he pulls off one of the greatest tricks he has ever attempted. While we are getting the end of Bruce Wayne’s story, we are also getting the origin story for John Blake. That origin is a composite of most of the characters that have donned the persona of “Robin” in the comics Aside from Stephanie Brown (Robin IV) and Carrie Kelly (Robin VI):
1)      John’s backstory is pulled directly from Jason Todd (Robin II)
2)      He deduces Batman’s identity as Bruce Wayne like Tim Drake (Robin III)
3)      He is a “hot head” like Damien Wayne (Robin V)
4)      He is a cop and he takes up the mantel of Batman like Dick Grayson (Robin I)

At the end of the film when the assessor asks for his legal name, I was half expecting to hear one of the names listed above, however when he said “Robin” that solidified that he was helping Batman throughout the film, like a sidekick, and that he was going to be Bruce’s successor.



PRODUCTION



 Source Material

As with The Dark Knight, Rises has a lot of different source material it draws upon from both the comics and from literature:

The Return of Batman after suffering a tragedy and retirement
“Boy, you’re in for a show tonight Son!”
The “Magic Knee Brace” (though in the comic it’s an arm brace)
Bruce faking his own death.

The character of Bane
Bane knowing who Batman is
Bane breaking Batman/Bruce Wayne’s back
Bruce Wayne’s recovery
Batman defeating Bane in Combat (though in the comic it is Jean Paul Valley)

The Destruction of Gotham (Though in the Comics it was an Earthquake)
The Destruction of the Bridges
“The people of Gotham we have not abandoned you.”
The Tagging of the Bat Symbol as street graffiti
Bruce Wayne leaving Gotham

The French revolutionary feel
Bane’s coat
Batman’s Martyrdom
Gordon’s speech at Bruce’s grave


Music

The Score for this film is the greatest in the trilogy.  The way that Zimmer put this soundtrack together is nothing short of brilliance. In the beginning of the film, Zimmers music is haunting, like Bruce, a shadow of the score from the previous films.  Then as the story progresses Zimmer cranks up the intensity. So much, by the time the score swells in the last sequence and you see Bruce in the café, tears are streaming down your face!  Here is both a sample of the music (which you should buy) and a video about the making of it.






Cinematography

This was the swan song of Wally Pfister and Christopher Nolan’s collaboration, and it is the most beautiful film to date. Sweeping breathless cityscapes to intimate close-ups Pfister gives us everything. With a total of 72 min of the film shot in IMAX Pfister took what he leaned on The Dark Knight and Inception and made this film even better.  They had better rigs for the IMAX cameras, and they found a way to dampen some of its noise.  The rest of the film was shot on 35mm and 75mm film to make sure that when they made a photochemical (non-digital) transfer of the film that the home video viewing experience is as crystal and clear as the film in the theaters. While I did not particularly like Pfister’s directorial debut, I would like to see him direct again, or at the very least collaborate with Nolan on a future project once Interstellar is complete.

Direction
            The Dark Knight Rises is Nolan’s greatest work to date. It is also an illustration of how Nolan masterfully weaves together large scale scope, and epic visuals with human drama. The immensity of TDKR only works if you are invested in the story of Bruce Wayne. Once Nolan has that the scope and scale that he creates is there to just emphasis and elevate the story itself.  He is Brilliant. That is all.

CONCLUSION
            This is my favorite Nolan Film to date. It is hard to put into words how this film makes me feel every time I see it.  It is as close to a religious experience as I believe I will ever get (who knows we will see what happens when I see Interstellar). This film means more to me than the others in the trilogy because it has an ending.  While many Batman fans wanted an out. Meaning they wanted the end of the story that wasn’t an end, desiring instead to have Batman’s mission be everlasting.  Nolan never set out to tell that story, and there were hints at it from the very beginning of the trilogy.  I wanted an ending, I wanted the three act structure to be complete. When stories continue, (going on sometimes for 10 years) they lose their value. By ending the story in a (very) satisfying way, Nolan not only protects his vision of Batman, (From the Studio and Zack Snyder) but gives us a complete understanding of Bruce Wayne and Batman that can never be repeated.  This is the end to my definitive Batman on Film.  I may have to wade through a lot of crap in the future (looks like a tons worth).  But this series of films, and The Dark Knight Rises in particular will always show me that Batman has been given his due.




[1] It was quite clear, based upon the negative fan reaction to the aforementioned 8 year gap between TDK and Rises that many fans did not expect nor want Batman’s story to end because Batman’s story in the comics; is endless. However, this is more so a function of the comics industry’s need to constantly sell more monthly comic books rather than Bruce’s mission being completely without end. 
[2] I too was in a midnight screening of the film. I will cover this as well as my personal reactions to the tragedy and the entire Batman mythos in a later post covering the entire trilogy.
[3]  I mentioned in my review of Batman Begins that Bruce uses the persona of Batman as a coping mechanism to deal with the loss of his parents and to control and focus his Fear. In The Dark Knight Bruce learns that he has to be humble and altruistically sacrifice himself and his reputation, to eliminate Chaos. By The Dark Knight Rises the questions are raised as to how healthy Batman has become for Bruce Wayne’s psyche, and how long can a person hold onto, and let Pain rule his life?
[4] In that moment, Bruce is reborn. This is a direct reference to “The Lazarus Pit” in the comics which allowed Ra’s al Gul to heal injuries and reach immortality. Here, being able to climb out of “The Pit” has similarly rejuvenated Bruce.
[5] If Bane really wanted to revolutionize Gotham by eliminating Capitalism, he would have to come up with a successor system to it; such as David Schweickart’s “Economic Democracy”
[7] There are many names for this idea. My favorite is from Patricia Hill Collins who calls this “The Matrix of Domination”.
[8] This too is also a reference in the comics to rebirth of a character as they rise from “The Lazarus Pit.”, a pool with unknown chemicals that has allowed Ra’s (and a few others) to cheat death.  The Rebirth of Batman, in such a way in the film, is a nice Easter egg for fans.


[9][9] Master status: The collection of certain social statuses whose assumptions, above all other statuses, affects how other individuals react to you and interact with you.  Master status includes: Age Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Sexuality, Disability
[10] The Lesbian Existence is the idea that women can gain more power, authority and capital (in all its forms) through their relationships with other women. However, Rich states that this power is denied to women through “compulsory heterosexuality” which, in part, teaches women to value their relationships with men over their relationships with women.  This is one reason why women are socialized to hate other women, because they see other women as competition for male attention.
[11] As a side note: How do you know Gotham is the worst city in the world? Those that try to escape it move to Cleveland!!!