Leaguepodcast Presents: The Alfred Letters - Vol. 1 PART 2

Earlier this week, I received a letter from my old pal

Clay N. Ferno

, on his own Substack, which I highly recommend everyone subscribe to:

LeaguePodcast Presents: The Alfred Letters Vol. 1

And while you’re at it…

The nature of this letter was the Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, and specifically, the now 15 year-old middle third, The Dark Knight, and if it was superhero schlock or a movie worthy of its praise. Here’s is my response to him. Definitely go back and read his original post first. It’s pretty, pretty, pretty good.

Ohhhh, Clay,

It is always good to receive a let-ah from a dear, old friend. Even during our Life-casts (where I actually order my iced tea without water, not without ice. That would be weird. Side note: it was a Starbucks barista who recommended I order it that way, because they water down the tea substantially, so when you order an iced tea there and don’t ask for “no water,” you are basically getting slightly flavored water. But I digress…), we don’t talk about things like, “What makes The Dark Knight a great movie beyond Heath Ledger’s performance?” We tend to talk about work, or our siblings or hometown memories. Not the stuff that really matters, like Batm’n movies.

However, before I tackle the Caped Crusader, let’s start at the top. It is true that we both have (I believe) Substacks, and it is only because I saw that you were doing it that I decided it would be a cool thing to do. I was already writing long-winded movie columns at mattdursin.com, but there wasn’t really a way to spread the word or monetize things over there, and as Heath Ledger’s Joker says in the movie in question: “If you’re good at something, never do it for free.” 

So, you were the inspiration for my having/doing a Substack, as you are for a lot of other things I try in life. However, we do tend to tackle different subjects. As you pointed out, it is a slippery slide to send something out into the world and wonder, “Does anyone need this?” And you are correct when you point out, “Of course not.” I usually write about movies that people may or may not remember, and you tend to write about more personal subjects. Only recently have my posts turned to the personal; and I was partially inspired by you to do that. I was also inspired by Amanda Palmer, who writes a pretty cool Substack of her own. But that’s the cool thing about this medium is that it can be whatever you want it to be. People can read or not read it, as they see fit. The only certainty? They can’t un-read it!

But when we are talking about The Dark Knight, it kind of is personal for me. And of course, Heath Ledger’s performance must be part of any discussion about this movie, but only part. As someone who majored in film in college and has studied the medium extensively, and screenwriting specifically, The Dark Knight is one of the rare films that's a big-budget, superhero, popcorn blockbuster, and a quiet, character study all in one. I am an unapologetic fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but none of their movies can claim that.

The two you mentioned in your letter (or the AI mentioned) are fun movies that can be enjoyed anytime and don’t require a lot of excess thought afterward. And even though the AI claimed that Iron Man received critical acclaim for its fresh take on the character, I would posit quite the opposite: I would say that it was actually a spot-on take on the character. The same could be said of Bruce Banner in Incredible Hulk, and, let’s be honest, almost every MCU character. Hence the popularity of the movies with fanboys and the mainstream audience alike. For a fresh take on an established character, I say look no further than Heath Ledger’s Joker.

Still, the question was what makes the film good beyond that character, so let’s get to work on that. As mentioned earlier, it is a character-study, but the character in question isn’t The Joker. Lest we forget, the star of the movie is Batman. The poor guy has tended to get over-shadowed in his movies by the villain, with Jack Nicholson even taking top billing in Tim Burton’s 1989 version. (Jack must have been looking into the future to see the Ledger version say that line about never doing something you’re good at for free.)

The Nolan trilogy actually does a really good job showing the arc of Batman throughout the three movies. In Batman Begins, he learns the ropes, and not just the skills, but also what it takes to be a hero. In The Dark Knight, he begins to realize the causality of Batman: his actions resulted in The Joker coming out of the shadows. It is mentioned numerous times that Batman brought the crazy out in Gotham. Basically, the guy fighting criminals in a bat suit resulted in a criminal in a clown suit, fighting everybody. Finally, in the third part of the trilogy, Batman rises from the ashes, overcomes all the odds, kind of sacrifices himself to save the city, and retires with his lady, as Alfred always wished he would. A hero’s journey worthy of Joseph Campbell himself.

As with all great stories (and sandwiches), the meat is in the middle. The Dark Knight is where we see Batman truly meet his match in The Joker. Where Batman wants to restore order to the streets of Gotham, The Joker just wants to, as Alfred says, “watch the world burn.” For much of the movie, Joker murders people for every day that Batman refuses to give up his identity. Does The Joker even care who Batman is? It is entirely possible that he doesn’t and just likes messing with him (and killing people, obviously). In the classic interrogation scene, Joker reveals that he doesn’t want to kill Batman, because then his life would go back to being boring (Ripping off mob dealers? Pfft.) In fact, there is a very interesting take on this in the recent Batman & the Joker: Deadly Duo series by Marc Silvestri.

This is where the general theme of the movie comes into play. Batman needs to be the hero that Gotham deserves. When Bruce Wayne decides to turn himself in to stop Joker’s killing spree, Alfred disapproves. Bruce asks him, rhetorically “What would you have me do?” Alfred responds, “Endure.” When Batman tells Harvey Dent to hold a press conference so he can turn himself in, Dent responds angrily, “You can’t give in!” When Dent actually turns himself in, claiming to be The Batman, Rachel asks Alfred why Bruce let Harvey take the fall, and Alfred tells her that he is sacrificing himself in a way that only Batman can, by not being the classic hero. Batman doesn’t stand on top of the White House holding the American flag. That is why The Dark Knight isn’t just a catchy title for the movie, but who he is. The hero of Gotham. 

I could go on, but I am curious about your take. Do you see any more to this movie than typical, good guy vs bad guy schtick? Is it the movie Gotham deserves?

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Read Clay’s response next week. Until then, you can listen to us rant some more on our podcast, and you can share your feelings on this topic, or anything here:

Thanks for reading! Remember to keep doing what you’re good at. Just don’t do it for free!