Joshua David Stein: Long Journey Into the Knight

Some of the reasons why Dark Knight , the latest installment of the Batman movie franchise which opened last Friday, took in US$155.34 million its opening weekend may have little to do with the movie itself. Surely a bereft American public looking to mourn its own James Dean -- though in truth Heath Ledger was an Australian citizen -- could find no more apt tribute than to flock to theatres. Rumors that Ledger's role as the Joker pushed him into the abysmal funk than ended in his premature death of a prescription drug overdose drew the viewer in. After all, who doesn't want to see the role that killed the best actor of our time? The movie had and has a lot to live up to. Critics have been shouting its praises from their rooftops since Thursday. On Friday, when I saw the movie at 10 pm, the line stretching down Court Street in Brooklyn was writhing in anticipation. Twentysomethings with cardboard Batman masks, black kids in long white shirts, hairy white Jews with trail mix and WNYC tote bags. ... (link)