Poop Talk

Don’t worry, no spoilers. I’ll keep it to initial thoughts since that’s all I can muster right now. The Dark Knight , of course, lives up to the hype. Heath Ledger even more so. I am now totally at peace with the (previously partially unsubstantiated) rally calls for a posthumous Oscar nod.

I can’t really formulate a full critique at this time, because I couldn’t completely soak in its countless thematic elements and nuances. You never can with any film on a first viewing, much less one with a plot as involved as TDK.

Analyzing a film beyond the plot is impossible in a theater full of jackasses in clown makeup trying to do the Joker laugh every time Heath Ledger hits the screen. Just about every moment of comic relief and every clever nuance of Heath’s performance (the key to it is his countless brilliant subtleties) was ruined by the guy next to me with the lopsided Transformers tattoo quoting back lines from the Joker’s previous scene. And he’d do it a split second before the punchline.

We’re talking about the crossroad where quality art hits a saturation point that will make you hate it. We’re talking a level of destruction unseen seen since Dave Chappelle. Come next week, people will be “why so serious”-ing in your face at every turn. I saw it starting mid-premiere.

What could I expect? It’s a midnight showing of a geek franchise film. Of course I would be in a theater with overexcited fanboys - hell, I’m one of them. But holy shit people, get a life. This was worse than any midnight showing I’ve ever been to. Star Wars, Spider-man, you name it.

The good news is that this is a film that needs to be seen at least two or three times before you truly understand everything Chris Nolan is saying. The element of chaos brought by the Joker is perfectly conveyed in the film - you have absolutely no idea what will happen next, and you’ll make yourself dizzy trying to think ahead. The film is complex and done with an artistic integrity unmatched in the genre. I don’t need to tell you to see it, because you will anyway. Just, for the sake of the audience, don’t start clapping every single time Heath Ledger darts a sinister look.