The Dark Knight (12A): A Review

Before I went to see this film, I cleansed my mind of the media’s speculation on particular events surrounding its release, particularly the glorified hype over the late Heath Ledger’s rather eccentric performance as the Joker. It went to the point where the protagonist of the movie, Christian Bale had taken a back step in the eyes of the media and had in fact almost faded into the dark night (small joke). It was all about Ledger and for a while it did make me wonder: Was Heath Ledger’s performance over hyped due to his untimely death? Would it have been different if he were still with us? Brandon Lee (pictured, who in The Crow spookily looks a lot like the Joker) was a primary example whose contribution had been given legendary status unfortunately after his death. So, was Ledger’s performance really worth shouting about? Does The Dark Knight as a film deserve its record breaking glory? I wanted to go see for myself- leaving behind all that’s been talked about.

After leaving the cinema, I was left with a little choice of words and somehow the only word I could summon up to describe the experience of watching it was: Awesome. I’ve seen all the Batman films and have enjoyed watching them but I’ve never really considered myself a fan of the famous rodent vigilante. Batman Begins (2005) was the first Batman film that showed how Batman was made and for those who aren’t comic literate like me, it made the character deeper and so much more appealing because he wasn’t just a man in a bat suit- He was a man with a past. I found that the film gave the character substance and us a chance to see how he came about. As the previous Batman Films gave little in the way of Batman’s history, Batman Begins was a new start that gave the character so much more depth and integrity.

After The Dark Knight, I’m finding myself more inclined to becoming a fan of the franchise (there’s something I never thought I’d say!) Bale, as ever, was extraordinary as Batman and his alter-ego Bruce Wayne. As for Ledger, there is no doubt about it... he stole the show. He absolutely captured the very essence of the Joker giving him a sense of immortality in that he almost didn’t seem human. This was present through his animated walk, the frequent lizard-like licking of his lips, his jester’s tone and of course his morbid facial art that accompanied his many disturbing expressions. According to Bale, Ledger was inspired by Sex Pistols star Sid Vicious (pictured)who soon became the embodiment of the Joker. Ledger was surprising in his role as the Joker because he managed to get the audience laughing with him. He was amusing to say the least and ironically a lovable villain. Throughout the film he makes sardonic jokes about how he got his permanently smiling sinister scars. The first time he explains his heartfelt story of how he got the scars, I found myself sympathising with the psychopathic villain. Later on in the film when he shares another completely different story about the history of the scar, we learn that he his simply toying with his victims’ perception of him and reminds us, the audience, that he is just being himself: a Joker.

I have to say that Jack Nicholson as the Joker was not a patch on Ledger’s representation of the Joker. Don't get me wrong, Nicholson was good but Ledger was just sensational. I found that Nicholson was playing Nicholson with makeup whereas Ledger played a disburbingly comical psychopath who didn't need makeup to justify his Joker. If you took off Nicholson's makeup, we'd just have another Jack Nicholson movie. If Ledger were to take off his make up, I still think he'd be a convincing Joker. There were times where I found myself laughing out loud at Ledger's Joker and it seemed that I wasn't the only one in the cinema who took a liking to the villian. There are not that many villain’s around these days that can actually win the audiences over to this calibre. Through his dark comedy, he made us forget the tragedy of his death while onscreen and this is all the proof we need to believe that he deserves every bit of the praise he is getting from the media.

Having seen all the Batman films (including the very first TV series) I would say with much confidence that Christian Bale is my favourite all time Batman and on that note Heath Ledger is now my all time favourite villain. Films like 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) and Brokeback Mountain (2005) show Ledger playing a more human character whereas in The Dark Knight we see Ledger in an out-of-this-world role and it just shows that his talents had no boundaries. Like, Brandon Lee, Ledger was a young actor with growing talent whose journey had been sadly short lived.

Lee died just before he could complete The Crow and Ledger died before he could complete The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009). The film follows the leader of a traveling theater troupe who, through a deal with the Devil, takes audience members through a magical mirror to explore their imaginations. Ledger's role has been recast with Johnny depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell portraying physically changed transformations of Ledger's character as he travels through dimensions. Ledger, like Lee, was just getting started and although Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight mark some of his greatest work, we will never know his greatest work. Just like we will never know Lee's greatest work after he left us with The Crow. And that’s the real tragedy.

One thing that I did find rather unsettling was during the end credits of the movie when Ledger's tribute was displayed. After a few credits had passed the screen read "In memory of our friends Heath Ledger & Conway Wickliffe." Conway Wickliffe, 41 (pictured) was a stunt man for The Dark Knight who died whilst filming in Sept 2007. He was on a camera truck filming an unmanned special effects car, when it struck a tree. Until the ending credits, I had no idea who Wickliffe (father of two aged four and twelve) actually was or that he died during the making of the film. News of Ledger's death was plastered everywhere, TV, the newspapers and even on the radio. There were international documentaries surrounding Ledger's death- but where was Wickliffe's mention?

I just thought it was quite sad that until the ending credits to The Dark Knight almost a year later, no one really knew that Wickliffe even existed. Of course, the ultimate tragedy with Ledger is how he died so young. But Wickliffe's death was a loss nevertheless. 41 is still very young and he was a father, a husband and a successful stunt man for films like Casino Royale, Children Of Men, Black Hawk Down,V For Vendetta to name a few. You can't expect any compassion from the media for they will always lust after celebrity gossip before anything else but it still makes you wonder about where we all stand. The tribute itself doesn't actually appear until some credits have already passed. It was a shame that by that time the cinema had already been cleared. I stayed because I couldn't believe that the film wouldn't pay tribute to Ledger knowing how much he had contributed to it. I was relieved when they did... eventually.

Anyway, back to reviewing! The Dark Knight is a must-see. The film is quite long but the time just flies by due to everyone’s powerful performances onscreen. Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart and even Micheal Caine (who I am not generally that fond of) were all brilliant, and when everyone’s brilliant, you have to give credit to the director. Christopher Nolan has done a wonderful job with The Dark Knight and as his films just get better each time, we wait with much anticipation for his next instalment from Gotham City. It is alleged that Johnny Depp could be playing the infamous Ridler in the next Batman film. Personally, I can’t think of anyone better for the part. Jim Carrey successfully added the annoyance factor that is essential to play the Ridler but he was lacking that special something. Perhaps Johnny Depp could be the answer to Ridler? We’ll just have to wait and see.

"When I die, my money's not gonna come with me. My movies will live on for people to judge what I was as a person. I just want to stay curious"
Heath Ledger-18th Nov' 2007
(Interview for London's Sunday Telegraph magazine).

If music be the food of love, play on

These were the words famously written by the legendary William Shakespeare and he wasn’t wrong- Music would be the food of love with its endless ability to feed the musical appetite of each and every one of us. Music is an art we are all drawn to, an art we can all relate to. Whether it’s a particular genre, artist or simply anything that inspires us to listen on; we all have our unique musical interests that fill up our Mp3 players. Music is a powerful fragment of our world that can change the way we feel in a single moment. It has the power to make us smile and cry, it has the power to make us feel invincible and free when you least expect it, but most of all music has the amazing ability to heal. Music can be spiritual for some where at times it can define who we are. And for me, this has been the very case.

Having been born in the mid '80s, I didn’t have a strong recollection of what this decade had to offer musically. Of course, no one could avoid the likes of Wham, Spandau Ballet and Madonna who shaped the '80s as we know it. But an age dominated by cheesy musical numbers such as 'Wake me up before you go go' with artists insisting on encouraging mullets, perms and shoulder padded blazers wasn’t quite my cup of tea. I was more interested in what Zippy and Bungle were up to on the children’s classic Rainbow.

Anyway, it was the '90s when I really began to develop an ear for music. I was just a wee girl and my musical knowledge began to broaden from what seemed before a sing-along at Sesame Street. I particularly remember listening to Kylie Minogue’s Pop infused Indie track Confide In me whilst in a ghost train at the local funfair. Unfortunately the ghost train was a bit of a disappointment and failed miserably at achieving a scary ride, on the other hand the song itself was actually quite eerie and far more haunting than the monster’s that were creeping at me. Strangely, almost a decade later, I would still describe Confide In Me as an eerie, haunting track. It’s funny how some things never change.

Heading toward the mid to late '90s as I was entering my early teens, I listened to almost anything and everything. This was a time of experimentation and figuratively speaking, the world was my musical oyster. I listened to anything from the Titanic soundtrack to the manufactured five piece ‘boy band’ plastics- that’s right, I said boy bands! Before we go any further, I must confess to once liking Take That,N'Sync, Boyzone and even the Backstreet boys (No Mercy anyone?). I’m sure many of us have a few secrets we like to keep locked away in the closet, certain songs... certain artists that we are embarrassed to admit we like[d] but we secretly love. Like it or not the '90s was a time dominated by cheesy boy bands that annoyingly sang in close to perfect harmony and even for those of you who are anti-boy bands, I’m sure you’ve all secretly liked the occasional song here or there!

The year of '95 was a very difficult time for me. I was only eleven and in search of answers to questions I was afraid to ask. We all know that your teens are a time of self discovery and mischief and yet I was completely the opposite of this cliché. My life was merely an emotional rollercoaster ride of physical pain and despair and there were times where I felt lost and deeply insecure. My older sister became the voice inside my head and the person who stopped me from falling- tempting as it seemed. Part of me still didn’t understand a lot of things that were happening in my life and even though I had my sister, there were some things I couldn’t even talk to her about for fear of what may come of it. Outside I was quiet and spoke under my breath, displaying a happy face. Inside I couldn’t have felt more alone.

With this heavy cloud of pain and frustration hanging over me, I was desperately seeking a beautiful release, a sense of freedom from pain and a new identity- a place where I could call home. Continuing my road to self discovery, in 1996 I heard a song called "What Can I do?" on the radio. I liked the song from the moment I heard it, it was different and extremely catchy. The vocals were playful, warm and honeyed whilst the music was beautifully orchestrated with a contemporary sound of the violin. As the song finished, the DJ announced the band as ‘The Cause’ (or so it sounded like!).

I remember asking my friends if they had heard "What Can I do?" But no one seemed to have heard of the song or a band called ‘The Cause.’ This was a time where the internet wasn’t a common thing amongst most households so looking it up was out of the question. A few months later, I stumbled across a band called The Corrs who were performing a song called Runaway on Top of the Pops- Another beautiful song that I was quickly catching onto, but the obvious didn’t quite hit me- ‘The Cause’ sounded amazingly like ‘The Corrs’!

Around this time, my family had just installed Sky and it was after having access to MTV that I had the opportunity to see the music video to "What Can I do?" and I finally realised that the band was in fact called ‘The Corrs’- an Irish Pop/Folk band made up of four siblings. Shortly after that, I heard another of their songs called "So Young" which was a happy song about youth and not caring about a thing in the world. This song reminded me of times in my youth where worry, pain and fear were all distant things. I felt a sense of nostalgia and it took me to a place of comfort through all my troubles. The Corrs were quickly becoming an answer to my questions.

It was when I heard 'Only When I Sleep' from the same album Talk On Corners that I fell head over heels in love. It was a turning point in my life because everything I’d ever felt that I was unable to show had been personified by this song alone. It was the power behind Andrea Corr’s voice that oozed passion, simplicity and a touch of laziness that had me captivated. It was also their poetic use of language that created a dreamy place for us to escape that had me mesmerized. Through their words, through their music, I found solace and in many ways it gave me a glimpse of hope that inside I wasn’t alone. I had found a sense of freedom, something to relate to. It was from their artistic style in writing that inspired me to write myself.

Writing is awesome and I feel we should all be doing it more. It can be therapeutic and possibly the single most effective antidote for the emotionally wounded. It’s a great way to channel all of your anger, aggression and passion onto paper. What’s more is that you don’t have to be a poet to write, just pen your thoughts onto paper and see what happens. You may be pleasantly surprised at what you achieve both emotionally and artistically. How else do you think some of our favourite musicians have come to write lyrical masterpieces that have blown us away?

I have always had respect for artists that produce their own work especially when it comes to writing lyrics. Nothing is more powerful than someone expressing your words through your own voice for only you know the truth behind each and every word sung. It makes it personal and reminds you, the listener; that you are not the only one in the world feeling these emotions. Having written all their music and lyrics themselves (with the exception of a few) The Corrs are an autobiographical entity of what we have all felt or will be feeling at some point in our lives.

Over a decade and 13 Corrs albums later, I am still in love with their music today. After all, you don’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been and I can never forget the many times it gave me strength when I was in a bad place. Music can heal but music also bears the annoying ability to capture a certain time or feeling that you’d rather leave behind. In my case, it is a beautiful reminder of who I was and how far I’ve come.

Of course, there are many other musical influences that I have picked up along the way which I also carry close to my heart. Some of these include the likes of Evanescence, Sarah McLachlan and many more which you will come know in the not too distant future. Music from the ‘90s will always have a special place in my heart. It was almost a surreal time for me and dreamy in ways I can’t quite seem to explain. It may be something to do with having discovered my dreams through a time where I felt there was no escape. The ‘90s was the best musical era for me because introduced me to artists that have influenced the person I am today- and not only this; it has also opened windows to a potential future that I am in the road to discover yet.

Music is a wonderful thing and it can bring to surface feelings you may never have realised you had. It caters for every mood whether it be anger, happiness, jealousy, bitterness, sorrow and of course the feeling of love through its many faces. What’s more is that it can be both incredibly infectious and stimulating-and who would know better than Andrea Corr herself who once shared that: "Music is sexy, music is sensual. And an expression of yourself and that side of you comes out sometimes".

I believe all music has a place somewhere. For music that I dislike may be a source of comfort for somebody else. We all have music that has left a mark in our lives somewhere along the line. For me, it has been The Corrs and although they’ve been off the spotlight for quite some time now, theirs is truly the kind of music that will resonate through the ages and remain timeless in my mind. So-In the words of Shakespeare himself, if music be the food of love... let us play on.

It's time to change, throw out the books and start again

Hello guys and welcome to Inner Corr!

Here you will be discovering a riveting world of reviews and personal reflections into some of the most influential and timeless elements of entertainment history (well, in my opinion!). These will include reviews on contemporary music as well as an insight into movies, novels, plays, poetry and of course the wonderful world of television. Although the majority of this blog will predominently consist of things I feel most passionately about, I will also be speculating on a wide range of features and topics that interest me along the way.

Now, put on your slippers and settle down with some hot chocolate... for very soon, I will enlighten you with the very first instalment from Inner Corr titled “If music be the food of love, play on.” So... sit back and let me take you on a journey to the very core of entertainment, to the Inner Corr of entertainment. Enjoy!

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-Inner Corr