The Dark Knight

One of the movies that I choose for session 4 is The Dark Knight. This film's leading actors are Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, and Aaron Eckhart. Some of the supporting cast are Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman. Some things that stuck out to me in the movie were acting, special effects, color, and the score.

The acting in this movie was amazing. Particularly the acting from Heath Ledger. He really put himself into the character and became in essence the Joker. It was almost scary how well he portrayed the character. When I watched him as the Joker every word and every movement he made seemed to be so focused and concentrated. He had an intensity that he maintained throughout the entire movie. Within the movements he made what made them appear to be so focused and concentrated was the fact that everything looked as though it just flowed without seeing the actor. He had such strength in his motion when he would twitch or do some other tick. I did some background research on Heath Ledger and how he played this role. I discovered that he became somewhat mentally unstable playing this role and that it made him depressed because he felt the Joker and the Jokers mindset so deeply. Watching him in this movie makes me think that anyone that can play the Joker to the full extent as Heath Ledger did has got to be unstable in some way. In order to feel the rampage and disconnect from other people in that way must feel that way themselves at some time in their lives. I feel that Heath Ledger was chosen for this role based on his personality. Just looking at some of his cover shots you can see that there is a deep side to him.

As for the other main actors I believe Christian Bale was chosen based on his strong personality and looks. He comes off as a powerful person which embodies the Batman and Bruce Wayne characters. He is also physically a very fit person whose body type can pack on muscle in a bulky yet lean way. As for Aaron Eckhart he is a good looking actor with the classic hero dimple chin. In the movie he does become a more sinister character but his overall character and goal of the character was that of the cities unmasked hero. He fits the clean shaven good guy role. As for the supporting cast Gary Oldman can play just about any role he wants. He definitely is not type cast. In half the movies he is in I can barely recognize him. He doesn't have a set look or face. He can change so easily and embody a character in every role that you can't see him through the character. I think that he was chosen simply because he is a great actor that can fit any role. As for Maggie Gyllenhaal he is a strong and independent woman. She has a great acting style, the girl next door looks, is pretty, and can be glamorous. The other supporting actors Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman they are great actors as well and are celebrity names which adds to the list of celebrities in this movie. The roles that they filled are for older men who work with Bruce Wayne. They both fit this role well.

Some of the special effects were things blowing up, cars crashing, helicopters crashing, Batman attaching himself to a flying plane, Batman flying through the air, and guns. The movie is packed full of action and realistic scenes. The colors that were chosen for the Joker and his accomplices were gritty yet vibrant. The face paint was bright enough to stand out dramatically but dull enough to not seem to circus clown and more sinister. The red was enhanced and balanced by the black eyes while the white face was smeared and grayish. Throughout the movie the musical score set the tone for the scenes and in many circumstances the music was louder than the dialog. In these times I feel that it was an attempt to take away from the characters and focus more on the situation in the scene and movie overall.

I liked this movie. This was my second time watching it and with the tools of the text and chapters I noticed much more about the movie than I did the first time I saw it. I remember hearing so much about Heath Ledger's acting before I saw it the first time and I didn't see what others saw. This time watching the movie I really noticed just how much he was the Joker and became the character. This was a great movie. I am glad that Heath Ledger played this role I feel that it was the best of his life.