The Dark Knight Rises and Skyfall essay - how is style, genre, and narrative impactful to an audience?

The Dark Knight Rises and Skyfall

‘The style of a film has more of an impact on the spectator than the story itself.’ Discuss this statement in relation to your chosen films. 

To what extent does your knowledge of the codes and conventions of film genres aid your understanding of the films you have studied?

Christopher Nolan's 2012 film 'The Dark Knight Rises' is considered as perhaps the largest Batman film in aesthetic scale, attempting vast spectacle within the scopes of its intended verisimilitude, but fumbles with its narrative that loses its general audience; producing the argument that Nolan falls into the critical category of 'style over substance' as opposed to Mendes' triumphant 2012 Bond film 'Skyfall', the meaningful story of Bond as a cinematic legacy and as a character in modern Britain enhanced but not defined by its fitting aesthetic quality.

The visual style of TDKR is canon with Nolan's early neo-noir style films, his recognisable muted visual tone, hyper-reality, and typically masculine aesthetics applied to his rendition of Gotham. This style caters to a wide audience, and in context of the 2010s whereby a resurgence of blockbuster superhero and action films typically neglected its audience's capacity to understand complex themes, Nolan threads impactful and thought-provoking ideologies that the Batman comics reflected in parallel to the ideologies of 1940s film noir. The typical high-spectacle action sequence can be seen in the opening of TDKR on a vast scale, where the archetypal villain Bane is introduced to hijack a CIA plane. From the start of this scene, the spectator is positioned to view the CIA as an unlikeable and corruptive force, the body language of the CIA domineering as he asserts assumed control, patronising 'captured' Bane convicts by threatening to throw them out of the plane, the low-pitched, non-diegetic music creating an atmosphere of unease, suspense and foreboding to resemble the corruption of the CIA and foreshadow the hijacking.  An intense soundscape - the music and diegetic shouting against roaring winds - combined with a series of handheld shots create an immersive experience for the spectator, as well as the various Roland Barthes action codes such as the dialogue from Bane, 'It would be extremely painful...for you', stimulating the violent hijacking whereby the plane is disassembled in ELS, the music rising in a staccato rhythm. This scene centres around the introduction of Bane's villain arc, most prominently his function within the story, having 'started a fire' symbolically establishing an ambiguous oncoming revolution for Gotham. On first viewing I found it hard to follow the story (the dialogue being mostly inaudible, a common issue in Nolan’s films), instead being positioned to appreciate the vast spectacle that for many has a lasting impact than the narrative themes that Nolan attempts to establish, an issue that repeats itself frequently in the story. Skyfall also kicks off its story with an intense action spectacle as the hero Bond chases the antagonising Patrice for stolen MI6 data. Spectacle and passive spectator engagement, like TDKR, is used through the fast pace of the edit, action-packed music to guide a tense spectator response, and spectacular stunts on motorbikes, a crane, and a fight scene on top of a moving train, Mendes asserting Bond's success and relevance through the use of the Bond leitmotif. The story's discourse of old versus new and issues around MI6 and Bond being outdated against foreign enemies - in a xenophobic and technological sense - are subtly woven in that introduces Bond's attitude to modernity: during the shootout between the two opponents, Bond fails to work with the handgun, looking down at it with annoyance before tossing it away, establishing his preferment for brute force rather than modern methods; this attitude is revisited again as he meets Q, claiming that 'youth doesn't guarantee innovation', implying that new methods of invention do not necessarily overrule old ones, symbolically represented during the 3rd act as Bond finally kills the villain Silva with a dagger rather than a gun because 'the old ways are the best'. Unlike TDKR, there are no complicated morals or messages during this opening sequence and the hero versus villain roles are not ambiguous: it is primarily concerned with creating a tense emotional response and immersing the spectator into the world of James Bond, juxtaposing him at his best (a Todorov equilibrium) against at his worst after he is shot (disruption of equilibrium). This is received with greater spectator emotion from the establishment of Bond being a humane, vulnerable, and sympathetic character as he tries to save the life of a fellow agent beforehand. Thus, while the action aesthetics successfully position the spectator to feel tension and engagement in both films, I find the only lasting impact for TDKR is its spectacle and aesthetic style rather than its story which Skyfall comfortably avoids. 

The impact of Skyfall's story is enhanced by the use of nostalgia as a tool for greater spectator attachment to the characters and themes explored, that impact furthered for a spectator situated in British culture (corresponding to response theory). For example, an insert CU shot of a china bulldog, a visual expression of Winston Churchill, sits on M's desk as a symbolic extension of her. The Bond leitmotif, Aston Martin and parodic reference to an 'exploding pen' from Q as iconic Bond paradigms of its genre all contribute to Skyfall acting as a celebration of Bond's legacy and relevance in a modern world, the aesthetic exampled shots meaningfully aiding the story; Bond is going back to his own roots narratively just as much as the film - in reference to its own 'Bond' genre and Britain's place in modern society - is. Such stress on British iconography establishes them as an integral part of the story - Bond, M, and MI6 as a failing and outdated institution in a modern London represents the film's contextual socio-historic explorations of Britain in a post-9/11 landscape and post-empirical state, faced with the changes in technology as represented by Bond's struggles. These narrative themes are meaningfully expressed through the consistent aesthetics, the film becoming something more visually impactful than just a 'Bond' or action-spy film - mostly owing to the regarded cinematographer Roger Deakins. The film has a consistently muted palette in correspondence with its impression of reality utilised to create a greater parallel between the contextual issues Mendes attempts to explore through the representations of Bond and MI6. In contrast, TDKR, while attempting to create a similar spectator response, the nostalgia of Batman's iconography is not as powerfully established within audiences and fails for many to be received in the same sentiment as Skyfall’s impact - though this is relative to a spectator's situated culture. The most poignant example is drawn between Bond's Aston Martin as a reference to the first Bond film and Batman's motorbike, suitably exaggerated in scale and intensity for Nolan’s hyper-real Gotham. The Aston Martin is an iconic expression of the James Bond iconography, the spectator encouraged to have a sensory response as the car is lit up and framed in a wide shot, the leitmotif provoking a nostalgic appreciation from the spectator as Bond claims to ‘go back in time’ as he drives to his ancestral home with M: a fitting metaphor for Bond’s literal roots and Bond as an icon. TDKR attempts a similar positioning as Batman symbolically returns as the protector of Gotham in a spectacular action sequence, the shot of Batman rapidly propelling his bike off a ramp framed in a low-angle combined with the ascending climactic music for many provoking a sensory response in the spectator, though its reliance on its large-scale, intense, and hyperreal exaggeration in terms of function and appearance is far more impactful as a memorable – aesthetic -quality of the film rather than the story it represents in the narrative, which Skyfall accomplishes, making Skyfall justifiably – in my opinion – far more successful in creating a larger impact on the spectator as a representative of its story and thematic discourse.  Blue and red (as perhaps expressing the Union Jack) are frequently referenced within the mise-en-scene of Skyfall, such as the cinematic LS of Bond fighting Patrice within a skyscraper, their silhouettes contrasting against the electric blue, applied again as Bond travels through Shanghai against a flamboyantly exotic red dragon. These represent the modern world - Bond as an old-fashioned relic within a shifting global power - while London remains bleak and thus outdated in its visual tonal palette. Thus, while Skyfall's story is more impactful to spectator response than its visual style, the various nostalgic aesthetics meaningfully integrated into the story enhance the impact and helps to define the ideological discourse the film puts forth. 

Skyfall focuses on the conflicting arcs of its three central characters: Bond, M, and Silva who battle between themselves, the narrative surrounding Bond’s roots (relating to spectator nostalgia), M's ageing (representative of Britain/MI6), and Silva's betrayal and relationship with duty, which is made parallel to Bond’s arc, this focus on story being far more impactful to audiences than its aesthetics. In comparing the endings of each film, nothing is comfortably resolved in TDKR: Bane’s plans to re-distribute the power within Gotham through a class warfare revolution never reaps narrative consequence beyond Batman’s interferent at sacrificing himself by blowing up a nuclear bomb, to then be revealed as alive and ‘retired’ from his role – to be assumed by officer Blake - as Batman as he resides hidden in Italy (the aesthetics noticeably lighter in colour and tone); an intended satisfaction from the spectator that generally fails to be received. While we are led to believe Batman/Bruce Wayne is dead as we are shown an elaborate funeral and unveiling of a statue, this misdirection fails to land as an excitably thrilling plot twist in the end, and functions more in resolving Alfred and Bruce's character conflict than the larger ideas the film attempts to bring; in the end Ra’s al Ghul’s mission, led by Bane/Tate, to eliminate Gotham has been accomplished just as much as Batman's intended 'death' has; the 'people' as a populist force rivalled into nothing. So, the film only accomplishes its character arcs rather than the main plot and in the end, they appear as separate things, leaving a dissatisfying impact on the spectator. In Skyfall, the governmental Mallory is assigned as the new M and Bond, in a series of shot-reverse-shots between the two, accepts a new mission, the nostalgia finalised with the leitmotif. TDKR perhaps suffering as an ‘American film’ places its values on materialism and large-scale spectacle in relation to its genre, relating to Martin Scorsese’s arguments (in 2019) that high-budget films are consumed for the same reasons as ‘theme parks’ emphasising aesthetic, thrilling and spectacular engagement rather than impactful cinema with impactful storylines and themes. While Nolan criticises American materialism and capitalism in Gotham through Bane’s revolution, it suffers from 'style over substance' as a result of over-complication in the narrative that becomes undigestible for its wide ideal audience. Skyfall however seems more concerned with the decline of Britain, loyalty and duty, and a war on terror; something successfully coherent throughout. Thus Skyfall’s Bond genre is, most suitably put to Steve Neale’s quote, ‘instances of repetition and difference’: spectator cultural knowledge of Bond conventions helps appreciate the themes Skyfall puts forth in relation to modern issues while not dismissing Bond's roots. Such films that rely on a successful combination of story, character, and issues that remain contextually relevant, as exampled by Skyfall, have a lasting impact over their aesthetic style.  

TDKR is not as critically acclaimed as its Nolan predecessors with many criticising the film being too tied up in trying to say something impactful the message is lost with audiences.  it would be incorrect to say that the whole film, has no 'substance' such as character arcs, thematic explorations, and historical contexts; rather, unlike Skyfall, TDKR has too much 'substance' involved in its storyline that it becomes hard for a spectator to understand and process the various socio-political themes combined with narrative misdirection and contradiction, and a spiritual righteousness within Batman that seems forced within the narrative in order to make Batman’s return to Gotham and sacrifice relevant, thus making the visual style of the film more impactful on the spectator than the story itself. Both Skyfall and TDKR (as part of each’s rebooted franchise) brought a spent character of iconic popular culture suffering from parody to a modern world, the impression of reality of both enabling these iconic characters to exist respectably and be admired by a modern audience, which would hardly be possible without the success of Nolan's/Mendes' digestible and stylised aesthetics (the combination important). Though, the story of Skyfall enables James Bond to remain relevant and thus impactful to the spectator while TDKR remains largely forgotten in Nolan's repertoire, its style more impactful on spectator response than the story it complicates. 

whole gun barrel logo thing with leitmotif, asserting from the start his identity , silhouette - that association of bond being mysterious, his identity past the surface level paradigms enigmatic, to then be given a CU, his eyes lit and focused, letting the spectator in, the demonstration of humanity, the evidence of vulnerability as he is shot, and his melancholy - his masculinity re-evaluated, his genre expectations flipped, shown to be with women, hypermasculinity, alcohol, scorpions, is portrayed as performative, at his lowest point - skyfall emphasises duty and loyalty instead). to help bond exist in a modern world and be understood/appreciated. thus mendes makes bond's paradigms and character within the contexts of a modern Britain the core of skyfall's narrative. one doesn't succeed the other, the film is only successful in combination.