The Dark Knight

Wow!

First, the story ... a great story filled with drama. A little murky toward the end with the introduction of Two Face.

The Joker is a madman and perhaps so is Bruce Wayne - obsessed with purpose: the one bitterly insane, the other, compelled by justice and defending the city he loves. In the tug of war between the two, Bruce Wayne begins to fear what's happening to him - hence, the title, "The Dark Knight." Or as Harvey Dent says, "You die a hero, or you live long enough to become the villain."

The music is powerful ... some of the best I've ever heard.

From beginning to end, the film has a "dark" feel to it, but not in the same vane as, let's say, Blade Runner." This is a dark film with just the right amount of whimsy - the Dark Knight and the Joker.

The acting is superb ... Christian Bale as Batman, Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth (our devoted butler), Gary Oldman as Lt. James Gordon, Aaron Eckhart as the bold and handsome city attorney, soon to become Two Face (this role was hard to read. Eckhart is great at playing smarmy characters - never know whether to trust him or not. At the end, I suppose, he becomes what he really is. Can we say the earlier part of his life was a facade for something darker?) and then Maggie Gyllenhaal - I wasn't entirely satisfied with her role - is she too sweet to play in such a gritty film? She knows who Batman is, but somehow or other, she didn't convey the emotional struggle of knowing the truth and hiding it, all the while falling in love with Harvey Dent, hiding that, as well, from Bruce Wayne, who is waiting for the day when the city no longer needs Batman, and he'll be free to love her. And who can ever forget Morgan Freeman as the wise inventor who creates the Batman suit and guides Wayne Enterprises? What a presence. What a voice.

And now, the star: Heath Ledger. Yes, I know that Christian Bale is the star, and I quite agree. Bale brings to the role a passionate thoughtfulness verging on the dark side. His interpretation of the role is without peer.

But the story is energized by the Joker flawlessly portrayed by Ledger.

He sets the bar so high for the Joker, I can't imagine another portrayal. Different actors will all bring their own unique take on things, should this story be filmed again, but Ledger's performance will stand for a long time.

Yes, Jack Nicolson was terrific, but Ledger brings a dimension of insanity, pure and parasitical - not wanting to kill Batman, for as long as Batman lives, so does the Joker. Clever and masterful - manipulating and maneuvering - to tweak the nose of Batman, almost as if he's trying to win his admiration, because the Joker surely admires Batman, seeing the two of them in the same light, or same darkness. That's the frightening and troubling reality facing Batman. Their interaction is unbelievably powerful.

In my favorite moment, when meeting Rachel Dawes (Gyllenhaal), the Joker walks toward her smoothing his hair while holding a favorite knife in hand - a smooth move by a madman convinced of his power.

One of the most curious and entrancing moves - the smacking and licking of his lips - perfect, weird and slightly winsome.

His voice, and inflections - innocent and profoundly threatening - perfect.

And a superb makeup job - much of it done by Ledger himself. Interestingly, the Joker gives at least two versions of how his scarring occurred. In the end, we don't know - like evil itself, we have no idea how it came to be.

There is, finally, a sense of childlike need in the Joker - to love and be loved are the essential needs and drives of the human soul, and if denied, or subverted, the love grows obsessive and/or aggressive. When the camera pulls back, we see the Joker, not as some hulking monster, but a slight and needy figure, nattily dressed in his own bizarre way - a great pathos in the way the clothing fits, revealing a rather small man blustering his brilliant way through a world perceived as hostile, and likely, what with his disfigurement, a world that was probably hostile.

Had Ledger lived, this achievement would have propelled him to the top of his game. Surely now an Oscar nomination.

I couldn't help but feel great sorrow several times, and at the end of the film, a dedication to "our friends" - Heath Ledger and Conway Wickliffe, a special-effects technician who was killed last September in a stunt-car accident on the set of the Batman sequel - broke my heart.

"The Dark Knight" joins "Batman Begins" as the best cinematic interpretation of the DC Comics' story to date. Hats off to Christopher and Jonathan Nolan for bringing this story to the silver screen.

This film exceeds my highest ratings.