I am standing in the 8:14 Vadala-Panvel local and I have nothing to do, so I look around. My brain starts quoting me awesome movie dialogues but one strangely lingers on a bit long, it the I Believe In Harvey Dent quote. So in the Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne repeats Harvey Dents motto - I Believe In Harvey Dent. At the mob-bank heist, when the bank manager asks the Joker What do you believe in? he says, I believe, whatever doesnt kill you simply makes you stranger. Probably talking about his own disfigurement and maybe his brush with the savage brutality that gave him the scars, also gave him gave him the power to be ahead of the morality curve and societal conventions. But when the Jokers attempt to kill Harvey fails, Dent is driven mad by the loss of Rachel and he seeks revenge. Dent too meets an emotionally wrecking, physically damaging event that eventually shatters his life, literally. His earlier perception of good and bad being black and white (You Either Die a Hero or Live Long Enough To See Yourself Become Villain) changes after that. He is also the symbolic middle between The Joker and Batman... He is the Human suffering from the fight between the mythical God and Devil. Note, he is literally split in two, a good side and a bad. He becomes a stranger with whom neither Batman or Gordon can identify with and they fiercely believed in him. Batman saw replacer, someone with a face and halls to actually fight against the corruption whereas for Gordon he was figuratively the Light at the end of a long, corrupt tunnel of Gothams bureaucracy. But Jokers plan ensures that he falls to the Dark Side and thus reaffirming Jokers belief that, Whatever doesnt kill you, simply makes you Stranger. Man this movie is so layered, everytime you see or think about it offers something new. Good work, Nolan Brothers... Good work, indeed.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 15:14:30 +0000