tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post4178718482422902992..comments2024-03-28T03:13:15.831-04:00Comments on Remarkable: Mikey on Dark Knight's Secondary CastingGeoff Klockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09080580776997273785noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-20537455640403938562008-08-02T14:07:00.000-04:002008-08-02T14:07:00.000-04:00Man, I am on holiday now so not really around a co...Man, I am on holiday now so not really around a computer much. I'll be back in a week if something comes up that needs addressing. In the mean time, just saying it's not a case of me being negligent.<BR/><BR/>Scott - I think the kind of distracting nature of it is definitely what first got me (I remember thinking that about the Wayne Tower engineer quite explicitly, and, again, thinking WHY are they doing that?) <BR/><BR/>But whether it's intentional or not doesn't interest me so much as the kind of resonance it generates, the kind of current that emerges within the film/between it and other movies/between the movie and the audience etc. Looking through Dark Knight Returns and other Miller books it strikes me just how crazy and distracting ALL of his bit-part characters are and it has a carnival-like effect (for me anyway). The hamminess and the garishness are the two critical bits of this. The nourishing sense of Batman as part of an entire repertoire.<BR/><BR/>Pla - I LOVED how you (the viewer) clocks William Fichtner and responds: woah! It's that guy! Then, from a totally inconsequential role he produces a shotgun and starts firing. It's really jarring. I had no idea what was going on but I love the reveal that it's because <I>it's a Mob Bank and that's what Mob Bank Managers do!</I> It's exactly the kind of strangely-pitched nuts I'd expect from a Miller comic (maybe his Robocop 2 stories....)<BR/><BR/>Jason, Kyle - Those Brokeback connections kind of registered with me but I wasn't sure how much to make of it. The "You Complete Me..." line was so unoriginal that it almost seemed like both the Nolans and the Joker character himself were only mentioning it out of a sense of obligation (again with this Joker - there may or may not be any truth in it but hell, let's just throw it out there).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-27921885927059845312008-08-02T01:08:00.000-04:002008-08-02T01:08:00.000-04:00Jason, my main mental connection between this and ...Jason, my main mental connection between this and Brokeback was how Ledger switched extremes from being bottled up and repressed to playing the Joker. Thanks for the extra bits of stuff that didn't occur to me yet.Kyle Whitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11585645795214120227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-35909681670955558992008-08-01T20:54:00.000-04:002008-08-01T20:54:00.000-04:00On the intentionality of casting ... given that, a...On the intentionality of casting ... given that, as Geoff points out in his book, there is -- at least according to Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns -- a sexual dimension to the Batman/Joker relationship, and considering that certain moments in the screenplay did play that up (the Joker tells Batman, "You complete me" at one point) ... is it possible that the casting of Heath Ledger was deliberate, given that his most celebrated turn to date before The Dark Knight was as a homosexual cowboy? (Recall that Frank Miller also casts Batman as a cowboy in The Dark Knight Returns.)<BR/><BR/>Funny too then that Batman's female interest is re-cast for this film, now played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, the sister of Ledger's partner in Brokeback Mountain.<BR/><BR/>Or it's just a coincidence. I dunno. Something that occurred to me when I finally saw the movie, and hadn't seen referenced anywhere that I saw.Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13298753675007196538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-92112458673789948982008-08-01T14:20:00.000-04:002008-08-01T14:20:00.000-04:00It's interesting how Batman as a character has had...It's interesting how Batman as a character has had so many variations that depictions of him now can call back to so many different things without being bogged down.<BR/><BR/>I think civilian focus on the boats is to show the people of Gotham who everyone else is talking about. But yeah, the contrast between the way the convict boat was played vs. the civilian boat is starker considering the acting styles. Where that seems to work is with Gary Oldman, I think. He's playing Gordon compared to most of the other name leads.<BR/><BR/>The old guy in Batman Begins was a bit off, but I think the reason is that I believe it's a cameo from the comic side? I'm afraid I forget who he is though.hcduvallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08271032072494870642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-27652596413976168862008-08-01T13:49:00.000-04:002008-08-01T13:49:00.000-04:00I would just like to comment that referring to Eri...I would just like to comment that referring to Eric Roberts as "TV's Eric Roberts" makes me feel really old. He had a lengthy career playing creeps in movies (<I>Star 80</I> is particularly recommended) before settling down to TV work.<BR/><BR/>I'm interested in the idea of deliberately choosing hammy actors for a particular Gotham tone, but I'm not entirely sure I buy it, given the relentlessly self-important performances by everyone else. Even the other character actors weren't hamming it up as much as Roberts.<BR/><BR/>That said, I think the totally unexpected appearance of William Fichtner in the opening scene was the best part of the movie for me. It was all downhill from there.plahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00503015422341841588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-66515236061482132412008-08-01T12:12:00.000-04:002008-08-01T12:12:00.000-04:00no man -- send it to me. I like the Dark Knight co...no man -- send it to me. I like the Dark Knight conversation around here.Geoff Klockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09080580776997273785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-67467819996790357972008-08-01T11:30:00.000-04:002008-08-01T11:30:00.000-04:00There's some unintentional fun with Michael Jai Wh...There's some unintentional fun with Michael Jai White, who someone pointed out played Spawn on the big-screen. Obviously there's Spawn's status as a post-Batman anti-hero, but there's also the fact that the Spawn/Batman crossover is explicitly stated to be part of one of the most important Bat-canons, Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns universe. And then you have Spawn's arch-nemesis: a scary clown.<BR/><BR/>OFF-TOPIC: Geoff, is your blog now straining under the weight of Dark Knight guest-posts? I only ask because I've got a half-written bit (unfinished because I haven't been home for days) about my unequivocal love for the movie, which I thought might provide a bit of counter-balance to the consensus here. I was originally gonna stick it in the freeform comments, but it became grotesque and swollen... anyway, any interest?Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14740669500899738381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23042008.post-37539863024835810442008-08-01T10:53:00.000-04:002008-08-01T10:53:00.000-04:00Yes! The Eyeliner thing! Thank you! That was drivi...Yes! The Eyeliner thing! Thank you! That was driving me nuts!<BR/><BR/>I don't have a problem with smaller parts being played by semi-known actors... at least they are playing named characters.<BR/><BR/>Something that I found very distracting in this movie though was the tendency to have no name bit characters suddenly become the 'star' for a scene. For example, the wise-cracking guy in the armored truck? Did we need that guy? Why was he there? Or the guy on the civilian boat? I mean, I love the scene where the convict throws the switch off the side... but why did that other guy become so important? Surely this sort of thing must happen in other movies... but it was just much more noticeable... to the point of being distracting... in this movie.<BR/><BR/>I noticed this in Batman Begins... remember the guy who was the 'chief engineer' or whatever of the Gotham Water works? We never saw this guy before in the movie... and, suddenly, we're being told to pay attention to him.<BR/><BR/>Is it just me? Maybe it's that Nolan has slightly hammy actors in all of these roles so I just notice them more than usual.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com