You Complete Me

Any normal person would expect the title of the post to be a romantic line in the movie, but if you have seen The Dark Knight you know it isn't, especially when it comes from the Joker (played by Heath Ledger).

There are action movies and then there are more action movies. Rarely there is one that manages to grip you with its performances as much as it does with its visual spectacles. Batman’s latest movie is all that and more.

Usually, you come out loving the hero but this one makes you admire the villain. You admire him for his notoriety. You admire him for his wit. You admire him for his unpredictability. You admire him for his belief that there are no beliefs, the fact that the only rule is there are no rules.

You don’t endorse his point of you but you can’t disagree that he has logic behind it. The whole argument that systems are so tuned to running on set patterns that a slight change can completely break them down is not invalid. In fact he proves it more than once in the movie.

What he also manages to bring out is the fact that all people have the devil in them. Some people learn to live with him, some others let him take over them and others suppress him to an extent that he rebels. The movie depicts all three instances, made possible courtesy the conniving and nefarious character that formed Joker.

Heath Ledger’s performance is remarkable. Each of his dialogues can form quotes for future writing. He displays brilliance, malevolence, humour and sarcasm all with the same grace. He is dead but he has immortalized the character of the Joker. The Dark Knight would have been just another movie had it not been for him.

Before I close this post, here are some of my favourite lines from the movie (WARNING: This may contain spoilers):

“See, I'm a man of simple tastes. I like dynamite...and gunpowder...and gasoline! Do you know what all of these things have in common? They're cheap!”

“Wanna know how I got these scars? My father was....a drinker. And a fiend. And one night he goes off crazier than usual. Mommy gets the kitchen knife to defend herself. He doesn't like that. Not. One. Bit. So, me watching, he takes the knife to her, laughing while he does it. Turns to me and he says "Why so serious?" Comes at me with the knife,"Why so serious?" He sticks the blade in my mouth. "Let’s put a smile on that face!" And..... Why so serious?”

“Do I really look like a man with a plan, Harvey? I don't have a plan. The mob has plans, the cops have plans. You know what I am, Harvey? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. I just *do* things. I'm a wrench in the gears. I *hate* plans. Yours, theirs, everyone's. Maroni has plans. Gordon has plans. Schemers trying to control their worlds. I am not a schemer. I show schemers how pathetic their attempts to control things really are. So when I say that what happened to you and your girlfriend wasn't personal, you know I'm telling the truth.”

“If you're good at something, never do it for free.”

“You just couldn't let me go could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You truly are incorruptible aren't you? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness, and I won't kill you, because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever.”

“Kill you? I don't want to kill you! What would I do without you? Go back to ripping off mob dealers? No, no, you... you complete me.”