The era of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy spanned for three movies, and seven years. They are centered around billionaire Bruce Wayne, portrayed by Christian Bale and follows him from his origins to the ending of his time as the Caped Crusader. Though following the formula of Batman’s typical origin story: a) dead parents, b) turning to a life of crime to gain vengeance, and the obvious: c) becoming the Batman, Christopher Nolan adds a grittier element yet to be seen on screen in the form of the League of Shadows. This trilogy is based around Bruce Wayne’s time as Batman as he walks the thin line between being Gotham’s hero, and being an ill-famed vigilante.
As aforementioned, Christopher Nolan is highly regarded as being one of the strongest directors to be currently producing films. Between period pieces to science fiction, you can assume it will be tackled with the typical Nolan style. As confirmed by the countless positive reviews by fans and critics alike, it goes to show that he has a real eye for how to please everybody, but also the keen sense in how to make the film visibly appealing as he does it.
More often than not, Christopher Nolan’s films manage to scratch your brain in just the correct way. They’re stimulating visually and audibly, and it’s rare that the performances aren’t anything short of wonderful. Somehow, between two generations of directors since he’s been producing films, he’s managed to match and dare I say, raise standards for what movies should be. Speaking specifically of the Dark Knight trilogy, the films always open in the middle of an exciting scene, and manage to remain captivating. The unbelievable grit of these films is undoubtedly what skyrocketed The Dark Knight into being one of Christopher Nolan’s top films.
Now, to clarify, would I say that his films are devoid of error? Absolutely not, no. There has been nothing but evidence that Christopher Nolan is completely capable of telling a story effectively, but he relies heavily on telling his audience exactly what is important instead of trusting them to be able to figure it out themselves. In the case of the Dark Knight trilogy specifically, the telling is done through exposition from every character at every chance he gets in lieu of true depth. The exposition is shoved down your throat. You will understand the villain’s motives, their reasoning, and exactly how they did it. There’s no other choice for you because like it or not, every single character will tell you what their morals are about, and the main shaping experience in their life that’s aided them in becoming exactly who they are.
This is the reason for lack of depth in characters that are supposed to be significant in a life altering way to Bruce Wayne. This is seen in Rachel Dawes who is arguably one of the most significant characters in Bruce Wayne’s life, but we only know the base level about her from the extensive explanations of her character that she unnecessarily gives to someone she’s known her entire life for the audience’s sake.
This could arguably be because Christopher Nolan uses his films as means to show time every way he can. This absolutely does make for impressive films, but this also makes for disastrous plot holes and movies that are typically viewed as hard to digest academically. Here’s what I think: they’re complex because we make them complex as avid analyzers that are trying to find a meaning that’s arguably non-existent. This is not said with the intent to be cavalier, because I myself have spent many a conversation trying to divulge the meaning behind a Christopher Nolan movie.
That’s the beauty of his work. Dare I say, that’s arguably what keeps it relevant. That may be a bitter pill to swallow. But before you rush to argue with why this is an invalid point of view, let me say this: confusion and brilliance are not synonymous but this is the divide that seems to be where he operates best, and is exactly what he’s praised for.
Lizzie Skaggs
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