The Batman (2022), directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), is a neo-noir, detective thriller set in the famed and fictional Gotham City in the DC Universe. As a sadistic serial killer, the Riddler, (Paul Dano) starts to murder elite political figures, Bruce Wayne/Batman (Robert Pattinson) emerges to solve cryptic ciphers, uncover fabricated truths, dig up twisted secrets, and discover the legacy of his family's past. The Batman hosts an impressive ensemble of talented actors and actresses to encapsulate the realism of Gotham's chaotic events. Reeves enlists the expertise of long-time friend Greig Fraser as the lead cinematographer, who had worked with Reeves on Let Me In (2008).
Batman is helped by the aid of the feline thief Selena Kyle/Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), the resolute and just Police Commissioner Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), and the trusted confidante and long-time butler of the Wayne family, Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis). Batman goes up against the villainous likes of the despicable mob boss Carmine Falcone (John Turturro) and sleazy club proprietor Oz/The Penguin (Colin Farrell).
Gotham is opened up as a grim, glum city of chaos and dismay. Gotham houses a criminal underbelly of turn-tail informants, corrupted officials, and despicable mob bosses; whilst the lives and virtues of Gotham's law-abiding citizens are held in the balance. Gotham is a dystopic city rampant with corruption and crime, an ideal setting for a film centered around depravity and debauchery.
The scenes are predominantly dark and dimly lit. Light is produced from natural, diegetic lighting sources including torches, lamps, lightbulbs. The stylistic choice of straying away from artificial, non-diegetic lighting grounds the film in realism. The realistic lighting in the vignetted scenes illuminates facial expressions to heighten moments of intense emotion.
In The Batman there is very little colour, everything is severely desaturated and darkened. Reeves' conscious choice of a recurring palate of vibrant reds offers a vivid contrast against the shadowy environments. Gotham is depicted as a noir-like, 1930's New York. The bleak, rainy city is illuminated by neon red lights, bright advert panels, and flickering street lamps. A significant portion of the film is shot at night, making colour and lighting quite scarce but at the same time pronounced.
The Batman felt captured through many static, tracking shots with little freedom of movement. Fraser ensured that cameras were hard mounted to facilitate fixed lateral movement; choosing to avoid wild movements like diagonal movement and pan and tilts. Fraser's rigid and controlled camera movement reflects Bruce's internal tensions. The camera placement somewhat feels inextricably linked to Bruce's psyche.
Pattinson's Batman is a brutish vigilante, a violent agent of justice with little remorse for criminals. The fight scenes are sometimes silhouetted like the fight scene in the subway station which pervades the scene with mystery. Another fight scene is blasted with light from the muzzle flash of automatic rifles which delivers a very distinguished and alarming shot.
Batman is characterised as a skilled hand-to-hand combatant. Whilst also being portrayed as vulnerable, as he is overwhelmed by multiple armed attackers who attack from different directions. Reeves conveys Batman through a very authentic lens as we observe him absorbing physical hits, suffering concussive hits to the head, taking shotgun rounds to the chest, etc. Bruce is a mortal man that can be beaten, bruised, and broken and the visible damage he endures attests to this.
Bruce Wayne is an introverted, antisocial shut-in. Bruce abstains from his family's philantropic ways, believing that it won't solve any pressing and immediate criminal activity. Bruce is fully devoted in his pursuit of cleansing Gotham of crime and barely partakes in any self-indulgent activites.
Bruce therefore comes across as dismissive, dissociative, and dislocated. Wayne's capacity for emotion feels suppressed, probably due to the sheer amount of psychological trauma of losing his parents at such a young age. Wayne shows little emotional attachment to characters, which makes the intimate scene of Alfred's testimony to Bruce about his father's involvement with Maroni all the more poignant i.e the close shot of the sentimental hand grasp.
From the beginning of the film, we observe specific events through the perspective of the villain i.e the Riddler's vision through the binocular lens as he spies on Mayor Don Mitchell Jr. (Rupert Penry-Jones). The shift of perspective between the antithetical protagonist and antagonist starts the bridge the gap between them. The Riddler strives to illuminate the misdeeds of elite officials to pave way for a future of unity and trust. Just as Batman seeks to uphold justice and peace by doling out his acts of vengeance against Gotham's remorseless criminals.
The shifting perspectives begins to blur the line of virtue and vice, and the definition of the hero and the villain. Both claim to fight for an honourable higher purpose, but are guilty of abhorrent violence against the accused. Batman's vengeance is impartial, merciful, and fair. Whilst the Riddler's vengeance is sadistic, obsessive, and fuelled by emotion. Reeves blurs the definitions of these thematic motifs to complicate the identities of the protagonist and antagonist.
The opera song, Ave Maria by Franz Schubert (1825); a prayer to the Virgin Mary in Catholic worship, appears several times in The Batman. Michael Giacchino mutates and twists Schubert's Ave Maria to become an eerie, ominous ode to the Riddler. Giacchino's Ave Maria is played throughout the film (as both diegetic and non-diegetic sound) oftentimes in a minor key and sung at a slower pace to accentuate suspenseful moments. The juxtaposition of the repeating holy song of prayer in a film laden with confession and sin delivers a pinch of irony.
In the beginning, Batman is shunned by the GCPD, feared by Gotham's criminals, and distrusted by Gotham's citizens. The Batman decides to collaborate with the GCPD to gain their confidence and trust, albeit to the reluctance of the Commissioner Pete Savage (Alex Ferns). At the beginning of the film, the Batman terrifies the innocent bystander he saves from the train gang members. At the end of the film, we still see the apprehensiveness of Gotham's citizens to receive the Batman warmly and open-armed. However, the silence is broken when a young girl bravely reaches out; a leap of faith. This lone shot marks a turning point in Gotham's perception of the Batman, learning to trust in the masked vigilante.
The birdseye-view medium shot of the Batman holding the flare as he leads the group of survivors out of the ruined stadium is a striking visual. This shot acts as a visual metaphor of Batman leading Gotham out of the dark and into the light, away from secrecy and towards transparency, away from revenge and toward redemption. It is a prominent image and a powerful metaphor of Batman's transition from an icon of vengeance to a beacon of hope.
The Batman felt like the most honest interpretation of Batman and Bruce Wayne in Hollwood that I have experienced so far. Bruce Wayne is a broken man with a fractured mind, who suffers from insomnia, has an obsessive nature, and a dissociative personality disorder. Bruce carelessly risks his own physical health and mental wellbeing in the pursuit of protecting Gotham's innocents. Bruce is motivated, diligent, and intelligent yet dislocated, cold, and reckless.
My principal gripe with The Batman is how blended together Bruce and Batman are. There is little discernible difference between their separate identities. In the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight trilogy, there is a stark and distinguishable contrast between Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne/Batman. Bale's Bruce is a cocky playboy, a generous billionaire, and a showy philanthropist. Bale's Batman however exhibits his more virtuous qualities as a selfless protector, a courageous man, and a lawful vigilante. This splintering of identity between these two personas is a predicament that Bruce should face. Frankly, I think this element would have inserted more positive attributes into the character, making him a far more personable protagonist.
By Lucas Barker, Minor in Media Studies, and an avid cinephile. 24/06/22
Comments