The Use of Perspective in Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises.
What is the job of a director? When asked, one of the most famous directors and storytellers of our time, Christopher Nolan, simply answered,
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“Filmmaking, just putting images together.” [i]
The answer is laughably simple. Yet, I must admit there is truth to it. A film is a story told frame by frame. What Nolan left out, however, is the fact that, often, Nolan tells stories not just when the frames are all put together, but also when they are simply standing still. His body of work revolves around embedded narratives- stories within stories. He can craft such stories by controlling every detail of what is going on on-screen. He is an ‘auteur’, after all – a term reserved in the film world to describe directors that are in the most dominant position of authorship stylistically speaking.
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One of the ways he accomplishes such control is by using the tools of perspective.
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“As a director, you have to be able to not look at a shot as a 2-dimensional picture but look at where everything is in 3-dimensional space,” [iii] he said.
One movie that benefits from the extensive use of perspective is the 3rd instalment of the Batman Trilogy: The Dark Knight Rises. The use of perspective allows Nolan to construct a narrative that takes us from Gotham’s glory to its demise, from Batman’s defeat to his redemption.
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What is this tool and how does it work? Let us begin by better understanding perspective. In the following pictures, I have drawn the same building in 1-point, 2-point and 3-point perspectives.
1 - point
perspective
2 - point
perspective
3 - point
perspective
As Nolan said, perspective refers to the 3-dimensional representation of an object on a 2-dimensional medium, which in Nolan’s case is the screen. That is exactly how perspective art was born in the 15th Century at the beginning of the Italian Renaissance- from the need to convey more information through the canvas.
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Information about depth, distance, relative size etc. Traditionally, there are 3 different perspectives which are 1-point, 2-point, and 3-point, each referring to the corresponding number of points where the perspective lines can converge. There can be more; however, within the scope of this movie, only these 3 will suffice. If one were to trace the lines created by the object to a point far into the distance, the point at which all these lines will meet is known as a vanishing point. The line that goes through vanishing points is known as the horizon line.
Let us look at the use of perspective in key moments in the film.
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“I am Gotham’s reckoning.” – Bane’s arrival.
It is one of the most iconic lines from the movie and a defining moment for the character of Bane, the antagonist. However, the impact of this line was not so much about Tom Hardy’s (actor for Bane) exceptional delivery as it was about Gotham’s place in our minds. To be truly afraid of the carnage that is about to befall Gotham, the city must first mean something to us. And that is where the use of perspective comes in.
Example 1: While the vehicle, known as the ‘Batpod,’ is clearly the focus of this image, the lines on the road as well as the array of lights under the tunnel guide your eyes in a way that gives you a sense of the size of Gotham. The realization that this vast stretch of road recedes into the background gives the viewer a sense of spaciousness, but also speed when the ‘Batpod’ is in motion. This is an example of a 1-point perspective as all the lines tend to converge at one point.
Example 2: This is the location for the set of one of the first major action scenes of the movie. Bane and his henchmen enter a stock market to incur financial ruin in the city. But to convey to the viewer the scale of the operation and the consequences of such an action, both the choices of the set and the camera angle are clever. The composition uses a 3-point perspective where lines converge to 3 different points- both sides and either above or below. In this instance, the viewer is given a bottom-up view to emphasize the towering nature of the buildings as a symbol of the financial success the city has so far experienced. While 2 vanishing points take place within the screen, the third vanishing point meets at infinity, out of the visual periphery of the screen.
Example 3: Known simply as ‘The Bat,’ this high-tech copter-like is the newest addition to Batman’s arsenal. In this particular scene, which takes place after the final fight scene, Batman is seen streaking back to make it in time to diffuse a bomb that could end Gotham. The city, still suffering the effects of the martial law imposed by Bane, is shown to be empty. The 1-point perspective composition of the windowsills and general architecture guide viewers to not just the vehicle but also to the emptiness of Gotham.
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Why show the shots of Gotham in these ways? In His foreword to the book “The cinema of Christopher Nolan: Imagining The Impossible,” Will Broker writes about Nolan, “His real trick is that we cared about the trick at all.”iv Part of the reason why a viewer should care about the destruction of Gotham city is by being aware of its beauty, of its mystique. These perspectives become essential components in conveying a sense of fear and apprehension that are crucial to the success of the plot. They make the viewers feel like they are part of something that matters.
2. “Do you feel
in charge?”
– Bane’s caution.
Bane’s character is crafted around his intimidating physique. Tom Hardy spent a considerable amount of effort bulking up for this role, reportedly working out 4 times a day and gaining around 30 pounds of muscle for the role. And while the hard work clearly showed, to truly establish him as a towering villain, Nolan chose to shoot a vast majority of Bane’s shots from a lower point of view.
Example 4: The perspective lines converge towards Bane’s chest. As a result, the angle of the camera means the viewer seems to be looking up towards Bane from a seemingly inferior position. It makes Bane’s physique all the more imposing. The vertical lines again converge somewhere much higher than the picture itself, adding emphasis to Bane’s height.
Example 5: A similar use of perspective is seen in the first altercation between Batman and Bane. Believe it or not, Tom Hardy (actor for Bane) is shorter than Christian Bale (actor for Batman). The aura of Bane as physically superior to Batman would be in jeopardy if Bane is seen shorter. Here Nolan uses the principles of foreshortening in perspective- the depiction whereby objects that are closer appear larger than those that are far. Batman is defeated mercilessly.
Example 6: However, that rule is immediately broken in this scene where the previously incarcerated switch roles and try the citizens of Gotham for their crimes. The criminals become the jury as one by one, the people of Gotham are forced to choose either exile or death. Bane is surprisingly portrayed not as the ringleader or master in this situation simply carrying out his newfound ‘civic’ duties by witnessing the execution of justice. While Bane still appears quite big since he is so close to the camera, there is no one directly next to him to be compared with. He is just an ordinary citizen.
Example 7: This is the penultimate fight scene where Batman returns after having completed his self-discovery. Bane is no longer the unbeatable opponent, and that is positioned lower than Batman. There are no obvious vanishing points, and hence no obvious sense of perspective. The pillars seem to converge somewhere above the image, but they do not convincingly make one character bigger than the other. Batman and Bane are finally equals, completing the character development for both.
3. ​​“Innocent is a strong word to throw around Gotham, Bruce.” - Tate’s deception.
Example 8: Miranda Tate develops into Bruce’s love interest during the plot. Before the final encounter between Batman and Bane, Miranda is taken hostage by Bane. During this scene, Batman is seen finally gaining the upper hand against Bane. The scene is set in a hallway with tiles that converge centrally, drawing your attention to Bane. However, Miranda, who is supposed to be Batman’s friend, is seen waiting off to the side and out of focus, not fearfully- as one would expect a hostage to be- but rather calmly-as one who would have expected this. Sure enough, as Batman is focused solely on Bane, Miranda later stabs Batman, who is caught completely off guard, just like the viewers. This is all accomplished using perspective. But unlike previous instances, this time, perspective is used not to attract the viewers to something but rather to distract them. The converging lines from the floor tiles drag the focus of the viewers away from Miranda. Deception is key.
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Despite the extensive use of perspective throughout this film, you, as the viewer, are not supposed to notice any of it. And chances are, you did not. It is ironic that the success of this work depends on how unnoticed it is. It is partly down to the spontaneity of Nolan’s filmmaking- to how natural it feels. Even as a fan of Christopher Nolan, having watched this movie over 5 times by now, I barely noticed these things. But that is the power of perspective as a cinematic tool. To take you along for the journey without you being fully aware of it. Of course, it is needless to say that it is not solely the use of perspective that accomplishes the transcendental nature of a certain movie. Nolan, just like any other director, also relies on the use of music, bokeh, lighting and many other little details to complete the picture. But without the use of perspective, movies would seem quite flat. Despite there being many technological advancements in the film industry, it is remarkable to see that one of the simplest and most effective tools in use today is actually 6 centuries old!
Note: This article was first written as a paper for my final project for a course called Geometry and the Emergence of Perspective. The course was instructed by the wonderful Francesca Spagnuolo. I owe it to her to let me explore something I enjoyed within the context of my academic journey.
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References:
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i Furby, Jacqueline, and Stuart Joy. The Cinema of Christopher Nolan: Imagining the Impossible, Columbia University Press, 2015, pp. 1–1.
ii Dark Knight Rises | CHRISTIAN BALE as Batman in Warner Bros.… | Flickr. Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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iii “How Christopher Nolan Writes and Directs a Movie | The Director's Chair.” YouTube, YouTube, 27 May 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZJi_78XUVg.
iv Furby, Jacqueline, and Stuart Joy. The Cinema of Christopher Nolan: Imagining the Impossible, Columbia University Press, 2015.