The Dark Knight (2008)
A review by Soul Food Cinema Editor, Mark Banks.

As I came out of the cinema last night I was searching to identify what exactly the overall message was that The Dark Knight was communicating. I couldn’t identify that message then, and I’m still struggling to identify it this morning. That is never a good thing in a film, but for a film laden with brutal and intense violence as well as diabolical personas and demonic actions, it’s made all the worse.

In some ways I thought the lack of a coherent message may actually be doing the Christian cause a favour by letting it be known that the world cannot be saved by a fanciful caped crusader. But then I began to question the alternative proposition the film was propagating and I drew a blank. A reader on one Evangelical faith and film website commented: “The overriding theme of the film seems to point to an evil force that even Batman cannot contend with”. I would agree along similar lines. The overriding message seems to me to be a melancholic one in which the battle between good and bad is depicted as a close-fought struggle; a struggle in which good may or may not prevail. This is not what we are taught as Christians. Jesus told us “"I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to… overcome all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10: 18-19). There is no ambiguity about it.

In addition to the vague conclusion, the film is laden with brutal and intense violence. I would not want children watching this film and I concur with the USCCB in giving it an adult rating. That for me though takes out the primary audience for which a comic-book adaptation should be aiming at. I also take big issue with the intensity of violence that has become trend on our screens now. Viewers should be aware of the fact that one of the traits attributed to the devil is that of a supernatural level of strength. Therefore whenever a film depicts violence of such intensity it is providing a platform for the traits of the devil. The more realistic a film becomes in showcasing such actions, the clearer the film should be in identifying exactly what, or rather who, it is that defeats evil of such proportions. That level of clarity was not present in The Dark Knight.

The other unavoidable issue to address is that of Heath Ledger’s much-talked –about performance as the Joker. My thoughts on this are that I thought he played the character very well. But one has to ask just how well an actor can play a character that is by nature one-dimensional. If anything I think Heath Ledger’s performance does a good job in showing just how dull and boring the devil is. There is though of course a more serious side to this and that is the tragic death of the young actor shortly after playing this role. I find it inexplicable why voices within the Christian community haven’t spoken out about the dangers of actors immersing themselves in such diabolical performances, and indeed the dangers upon us the viewers watching such performances. Through the Bible we are told: “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace” (Roms 8:6). We are told “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Roms 12:2), and also “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things” (Phil 4:8). The materials we put into our minds have a massive effect on us. In his recent book Exorcism: Understanding Exorcism In Scripture And Practice (Catholic Truth Society) Fr Jeremy Davies, exorcist for Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the leader of Catholics in England and Wales, states that the occult is closely linked to the scourges of “drugs, demonic music and pornography”. I see no reason at all why if the occult is linked to demonic music and pornography; it is not also linked to films with demonic content.

In a recent interview with BBC News at the premier of The Dark Knight in London, Christian Bale said of Heath Ledger’s performance “It’s haunting, it really stays with you”. One film reviewer recommended that people “should go just to see a performance that they won't be able to shake from their minds for quite a while”. I’d like to know exactly what it is that “stays with you” and exactly what it is that viewers “won't be able to shake from their minds for quite a while”. I don’t think we should just pass these comments over. Personally, I find it very hard to believe that Heath Ledger’s personification of the Joker had nothing to do with his subsequent death from an overdose of prescription medication. I think it’s a great shame that he didn’t have the support around him that he needed, I think it’s a great shame that we as Christians don’t pray for those in the media as much as we should do, and I think it’s a great shame that much of Hollywood continues to be an environment that fosters such extremes of behaviour.

I also believe we have to pay more regard to the broad messages that films are communicating to us and the environments within which they are produced. Regardless of Heath Ledger’s performance, Christian Bale said of The Dark Knight “we wanted to ground this movie in seriousness”, “(we were asking) how do you make it not be comical? How do you make it be seriously intimidating?” These thoughts are going into the making of a film that is a comic-book adaptation. And no matter what trends our juvenile society might have slipped into of late, comic books are primarily intended to be read by children.   

I hope I have adequately communicated my concerns. I should now like to salvage those good points in the film that remain, though unfortunately I do not consider them to be enough to counter balance the negatives listed above. The first positive is the moment on the two ferries in which the passengers are encouraged to take the lives of those on the other boat in order to save themselves. I thought these scenes were handled well and with due clarity. If I wasn’t mistaken I also thought I saw the prisoners retreat into prayer afterwards. The second positive, though I would think it lost on the majority of viewers, is the conclusion to the film, in which we are told that “sometimes the truth isn’t enough, because sometimes people deserve to have their faith repaid”. Though I would like time to note down those exact lines again, at first hearing I took that to be communicating a message along the lines of Catechism teaching #2488: “The right to the communication of the truth is not unconditional. Everyone must conform his life to the Gospel precept of fraternal love. This requires us in concrete situations to judge whether or not it is appropriate to reveal the truth to someone who asks for it”.

In all, I think it’s a great shame when we’re at the point of praising a film for what it doesn’t contain e.g. sexual content and excessive swearing, rather than what it does contain. I hope I haven’t been unduly harsh in my verdict of this film, though having returned home to switch on the television to see news headlines of seventeen people killed in explosions in Istanbul, and yet another person killed in a church shooting in the United States, I can’t help but believe we need greater checks on the media we produce and consume, and greater regards as to the environments and societies they help to create.

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