feeling listless

Film I had hoped to bring you some impressions on The Dark Knight, Chris Nolan’s latest Batman epic. I mean I can – as it stands I think despite the length a good twenty minute’s worth of pacing has been cut out that it suffers from much the same problems as the dreaded Spiderman 3 in that there’s too many characters, too many incidents and the storyline meanders terribly leading to a lack of focus. I also think that despite all of that it’s still one of the best comic book movies ever made, on the strength of the performances (yes indeed give Heath a posthumous Oscar), the action sequences and the general sense of moral ambiguity that pervades the whole production. I can’t help thinking though, that in putting aside some of his usual elements of style, particularly playing with story order, Nolan’s subsumed himself too much and lost some of his magic in the process.

The problem is that I know my opinion’s tainted, I know that because once again a seeing a film at the multiplex was spoiled by all the reasons I give these days for not seeing a film at the cinema. The film was being projected at a low candle level, which made this darkest of films even more difficult to watch. Despite this being a multiplex, the sound levels were chronically low rendering some of the dialogue, in a film were half the cast lisps and whispers often unintelligible. But more than anything else it was the audience.I sat at the front of the cinema so that I wouldn’t have anyone in front of me. But it filled up behind with people shouting at each other across rows and shouting into mobile phones and though this calmed down slightly as the film started, as soon as the Joker appeared, the mirth began and continued throughout the presentation.

One particular group found every scene hilarious and in particular enjoyed any moment when someone was shot, knifed and particularly when the Joker was on screen, even when we’re supposed to be shocked, this bunch were laughing and one particular member thought himself a comedian and hurled monosyllabic comments which everyone could hear but no one but his peers thought amusing. You know that scene when Harvey Two Face is revealed? I don’t know what emotion I was supposed to have at that point, but I’m sure Chris Nolan wasn’t looking for comedy. In a film which is all about mood, to have your mood wrecked by these kinds of goons is catastrophic. I’d eventually had enough. I got up out of my seat, went out of the door and across the foyer and complained to the staff who called security.

Security consisted of a short man who bore an unlikely resemblance to Burgess Meredith in Rocky (which is sort of in keeping I suppose for a cinema). He was silent and deadly and there was some calming down in the last quarter of the film. The climax though heralded some more unprovoked laughter and the guard appeared and walked directly in front of the screen during that final scene in the place with the thing where thingy decides that the best way would be to do the thing, which was a bit distracting. So on the whole, I simply couldn’t concentrate on the film as much as I’d like to so I can’t really tell you what I thought because I really don’t know. But when I say that there’s no point in seeing Hollywood films in multiplexes anymore, I mean there’s really no point in seeing Hollywood films in multiplexes anymore. Still, at least there’s the dvd to look forward to and possibly a re-assessment.