The Dark Knight - Cinema at its best

There has been plenty of good cinema, but in my opinion, Dark Knight combines all the great aspects of direction, storytelling, cinematography, and human behavior. Let's talk about what contributes to a great cinema, it is the nature of how a story evolves. Every movie has characters and a storyline, each character makes choices, and most of the time we are aware of the choices they are gonna make. For instance, all of us loved Avengers Endgame, but everyone knew that that antagonist is gonna lose ultimately, and due to this reason only, Endgame is not considered a great movie. On the other hand, the Dark knight is filled with unpredictability at each point in the movie. In most of the movies, there are sequences where a character does something and that has no impact on the overall storyline whereas in the Dark knight each character pays for their decision, even the smallest decision made by the insignificant characters has repercussions. 

Let's delve deeper into one of the best cinema ever created. All movies start with its names and casts name, but this movie doesn't even tell the name of the movie, a totally unconventional choice. The first time movie's name is told when the movie ends. Few seconds in the movie and antagonist is presented to us with his face opposing the audience, combined with an eerie background score, this scene in itself gives us the chill that something bad is about to start. Just see where he is standing, on a crossing, representing a decision to be made, which path to take. Look at the face mask he uses, a sad face whereas all other thugs wear a mask with a smiling face, this is how the irony of life and death is represented. All other robbers who had a laughing mask are killed whereas one with the sad face mask lives.

Bank robbery happens and the so-called hero of the bank comes with a shotgun and shoots some thugs, he could've just kept quiet, but he chooses to be brave and within the next 5 minutes he dies. Direct consequences of his decisions, no bank employee or customer dies in the bank apart from the manager because no one made any choice. Note the brilliance of the director again, everyone thought he would blast with the bomb, but he dies with a gas bomb, showing the unpredictable nature of the movie. 

    

Next scene, the protagonist of the movie is introduced, Batman is shown to bend the nozzle of a rifle with his bare hands, representing the strength possessed by batman in terms of physical, mental, resources, will, and character. Solid as a rock, beliefs that can't be shaken at any cost. This is not a hero-villain cinema, it's about two people who have different ideologies, and both want to prove their version to the other. Batman believes in hope and feels that even joker can be brought down to the good side whereas joker believes that everyone is dark inside, all they need is a little push. In a true sense, there is no hero and no villain in this cinema.

Harvey is ready to make a tough choice and this is shown by his dialogue about roman suspending democracy to protect their kingdom. Later Harvey pulls the stunt of being a superhero and this choice hurts him badly in the end.

Next, the mob is discussing protecting their money and joker comes up with a proposal to save their money and sorry asses but one of the gangsters puts a bounty on jokers' head. Few scenes later same guy dies at the hand of the joker. Every character pays for their choices and every sequence is contributing something or the other to the overall storyline. Even this gangster's workers are given a choice to kill the other in order to save their own lives.

Next, Lau flies to Hongkong with all the mob money, showing a sign of cowardice, and soon he is put up in jail by batman. When Gordon warns the mayor of the city about the plan of the joker to kill him, he doesn't take the threat seriously and soon he dies of poison in his drink. Note how each and every character is paying for their choices and even the sidelines characters are getting served for what they deserve.

Every time joker tells about his scars he comes up with a different story, in this entire scene camera is moving in a circle with the Joker in its center. This type of camera movement represents that joker is creating confusion among people and he is lying about his scars. Every scene with the joker is filled with some uncertainty. It is impossible to predict what he is gonna do and this makes him a very dangerous person. Batman has all the resources at his disposal but catching joker seems impossible for him because Joker is too unpredictable. After an hour into the movie, the first time Batman understands what he is actually fighting, a weirdo with a distorted sense of morality and character. See how he is portrayed in a distorted manner when batman figures out the character of his opponent.

Dent plays as Batman to trick joker and as a result, Joker is caught, at this point in the movie it seems that everything is finished, no one could have predicted that Joker would've contingency if he was to be caught. Gordons gets a promotion and soon the entire GCPD station is blown to pieces. Everything comes up with a price, the entire movie is filled with actions and consequences, a lot of scenes are filled with irony, and blowing of GCPD represents that irony beautifully. In the precinct, Batman comes face to face with joker and look at the paint job at Jokers face, it's about to come off. He is not at all scared of Batman and the below image dialogue clearly shows it. Batman is presented with a choice of saving either Rachael or Dent, as Batman, he should've chosen Dent, that was the higher ground to be taken. But, Bruce Wayne's personality takes over Batman's and he chooses to save Rachael instead of Dent and this cost him his oldest friend. This movie is filled with choices and the entire plotline moves forward based on the decisions of its characters. In most of the movies, choices made by its characteristics have no to little effect on the plotline and this is the sole reason that 'The Dark Knight' is miles ahead than most of the movies ever directed.

Rachael gives a letter to Alfred to be given to Bruce, but Alfred doesn't comply and as a result of his action, in the next movie he had to leave Bruce's house. Dent also tried to play a superhero just like the Bank manager but ends up losing his face and the love of his life. Again, you have to pay the price for your actions. Joker gives a choice to people to kill Coleman Reese but GCPD tries to protect him and as a result, a hospital is blown to pieces. Finally, the climax of the movie, two boats with a bomb on each of them. This is the last action of Joker to convince Batman that everyone is as Dark as him and this is the only place where the Joker is defeated and not by Batman, but by the goodwill of the people. Even after getting caught, he remains of the opinion that all those people who were saved in those boats will ultimately be consumed by their own darkness and its matter of time that all of them realize it.

At last, everything comes down to this dialogue 'What happens when an infinite force meets an immovable object'. Here, Batman represents the immovable object and the Joker represents the former. No one wants to kill the other, all they want is to prove, who is right and who is wrong. In the entire movie, Joker wins time and time again but at last, beaten by common people. Throughout the movie, Joker beats the entire police force, corrupts the most honorable man 'Harvey Dent-The White Knight', cost Bruce his best friend, shows the real place to mob bosses and all this is made possible because of his unpredictable nature. Just like him, all great cinema is filled with unpredictability. Other great movies have only one or two key decisions to be made but this masterpiece is filled with choices, unpredictable human behavior at every stage of its storytelling.

We'll discuss cinematography of this and other great movies in some other blog. Till then, keep reading and keep commenting your valuable opinions.