Dir: Christopher Nolan
So I went to see Batman
last weekend. With all the hype, I am glad that I went along and I
would love to know what other people thought because it's been
playing on my mind ever since. But if you haven't seen the film,
please stop reading because there are spoilers all over the shop!
My main concern with
the film was that I just couldn't get my head around the bad guys.
Bane's idea that the city should revolt and that people should take
control from the wealthy minority and their pie-covered fingers just
didn't sound that awful to me. Gotham really does look like a shit
place to live, especially considering that they have taken to reusing
that creepy well from The Ring and throwing their criminals down it.
But then there was the
nuclear bomb that Bane and Miranda were going to set off in three
months. I just couldn't work out why it needed to exist. If you're
going to blow everyone up anyway then going to the trouble of
starting a revolution first seems like a lot of bother for nothing.
It was as if the film suddenly starting doubting how bad its bad guys
really were and they panicked: well, everyone hates a suicide
bomber. The slashed USA flags. The American football pitch as the
surrogate 'town hall.' The extended rendition of Star Spangled Banner
sung by a little white child. The fact that Batman is conveniently a
very wealthy man started to make me feel like overly patriotic,
unimaginative, right-wing principles were being rammed down my throat
in desperation.
The more I've thought
about it, the more I've come to think maybe this was a deliberately
very problematic pro-Capitalist film but I'd love to know what other
people thought.
I got most frustrated
with the people of Gotham who didn't seem to give an actual fuck
about what was going on. Thank GOD for the police. And what about the
ladies? The womenfolk of Gotham are pretty few and far between. Are
they at home? Where they belong? It seems that if you're a lady, you
can have some lines only if you have a relationship with one of the
dudes on screen. You can have lots of lines if you fancy Batman.
And don't get me
started on Selina Kyle. I was really, really disappointed. To
have Catwoman on the verge of TEARS over a MAN she's JUST MET
(despite hints that she's in a lesbian relationship), whilst
straddling a motorbike in a leather catsuit and heels. Wow. I hated
that the social set-up in Gotham had forced her into a life of crime
to survive but she still sided with Batman.
I can
however talk about how swell I thought Marion Cotillard was. A total
bad-ass villain who wreaks terror in stylish knitwear and practical
boots. I think they were aiming for a femme-fatale shake-up but I
think I hate a good girl in heels even more than I hate a bad one.
Yes, a good girl can be a bad-ass but it just felt a little bit like
yet again, the boys get the best of both words. The femme-fatale
always dies but it's ok because our heroine is more than capable of
being the raging sexbomb anyway and she doesn't want to kill you. Win
win!
The other little
cliches that worked their way into the film – the English butler,
the evil 'Eastern European' gang member left me feeling frustrated
but oh these pesky left-leaning psychopaths – now they really left
me disheartened!
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