Critical Analysis of The Dark Knight

'The Dark Knight' (2008) is a directed by Christopher Nolan and written by his brother Johnathan Nolan. The film is set in a fictional city called 'Gotham' in modern day USA based around the story of the fictional character 'Batman'. 'The Dark Knight' is a hybrid between the film noir, crime, superhero and drama genres.

'The Dark Knight' is loosely based on the comic books by DC comics in which the main character  Batman, is depicted as a superhero. The reason the film fits into the superhero genre isn't only because Batman is a superhero but also a number of codes and conventions an audience would expect to find in the superhero genre can also be found in the movie. Firstly a moral code can be seen as a convention/code with in the genre and Batman definitely has one. He doesn't fight crime for money of fame but only to save his city from its high crime rate. Batman is also mentioned to have his 'one rule' in which he believes it is wrong for him to kill people. Another conventions found in the film include Batman's hidden identity, his financial support, his hidden headquarter and his costume. Iconography also helps the audience relate to the film by letting them know it is a superhero film. Icons such as the symbol on Batman's suit tell us he is a superhero because most superhero have some kind of suit with some kind of symbol on it.

'The Dark Knight' uses mise-en-scene in the first scene to add suspense and mystery to the scene. The scene contain a group of criminals wearing clown mask during a bank robbery. Instead of making the scene comical the masks give the criminals a fearful outer exterior and hide there identity.

Chis Nolan uses lighting in 'The Dark Knight' to add meaning to certain scenes. A lot of the film is shot at night, this causes the city of Gotham to have more of a dark feel; as if it was always night time (more crimes happen at night). This dark feel is based on the film noir genre, a genre which Chris Nolan is a big fan of and a genre that 'The Dark Knight fits into. The lighting also helps the audience see/not see certain things within the film. In one scene where the joker is being interrogated we do not realise that batman is in the room until he comes out from the shadows.

Camera shots also help convey different messages Nolan is trying to communicate to us within the film and keep us interested. In one scene the joker is shot hanging upside down but Nolan put the camera the same way as actor Heath Ledger, this is very unusual because it makes it seem like gravity is backward but helps Nolan keep the audience interested in not just the story but the camera work as well. Nolan is famous for playing with this effect even more in the film 'Inception'.

Chris Nolan uses shots from different scenes in 'The Dark knight' to show they are both happening at the same time. In one scene Batman has to save two different people trapped in different parts of the city. Nolan edits shots of both people and Batman together in the same scene to add suspense and help us understand what is going on. This use of fast editing works very well with the movies fast paced sound track and gets us excited by what might happen next in the film.

If we were to analise 'The Dark Knight' using Todorov's narrative theories the five stages would be these:

1. Batman and Gordon are attempting to stop crime within Gotham city.
2. The Joker makes himself known as a dangerous criminal.
3. The Joker claims he will kill someone everyday Batman doesn't reveal his identity.
4. Batman tries to stop joker a number of times.  
5. Batman defeats the Joker but has to live a life of persecution.  

If we were to apply Vladimir Propp's narrative theory that every story has eight character types it would be this:

Villain. Joker
Hero. Batman
Donor. Fox
Helper. Gordon, Alfred, Fox, Dent
Princess. Rachel
Farther. Alfred
Dispatcher. Gordon
False hero. Harvey Dent

The film is edited in linar order but cuts very often between different character making the film very fast paced. The story is told in basically two different story lines, one for the Joker and one for Batman/Bruce Wayne. Almost every scene in the film is necessary to the story. Some scenes like when Batman goes to Hong Kong may seem pointless but they help the audience understand the power that Batman has and helps them compair it in other scenes that show the power the Joker has, such as when he escapes from prison.