CHUD has scored some new, and interesting, information on Aaron Eckhart’s role in The Dark Knight with details on how director Christopher Nolan worked with Eckhart to bring the character of Harvey “Two-Face” Dent to life.
For many of you your only memory or encounter with the character of Two-Face was in Batman Forever when Tommy Lee Jones took the character way over the top as the Batman franchise turned into something of a joke. However, it looks like it is going to be vastly different in The Dark Knight. CHUD reports:
Christopher Nolan is experimenting with a fascinatingly schizophrenic depiction of Two-Face that will blend sane and insane line readings from Eckhart. Basically, Nolan shot complementary takes of Eckhart in Two-Face makeup so he could visually represent the duality of Dent in a less cartoony fashion. What Nolan’s doing doesn’t sound all that far removed from the Gollum/Smeagol model, though the obvious difference here is that Dent isn’t motion-capture; he’s a fifty-fifty split of the same actor giving two wildly divergent performances in the same shot. And because he has two takes of each scene, Nolan has the luxury of shaping Eckhart’s performance in post; it’s just a matter of switching the dial between normal Harvey and bug-fuck Two-Face. Again, both will be present in the shot, but only one will dominate the poor bastard’s conflicted consciousness at any given moment. The technical audacity required in pulling this off may be the reason Two-Face was held back in the trailer.
“Technical audacity” says CHUD’s Jeremy Smith… This is absolutely insane from a technical perspective. I have no idea how they will mesh the performances considering I would think Eckhart would have to move in the exact same manner each time. It is beginning to sound like this movie may redefine what it means to make an impressive superhero feature.
I have already started to wonder if Heath Ledger would join James Dean in the ranks of actors nominated posthumously. I am now beginning to wonder of The Dark Knight may be the first superhero movie that is so good the Academy can’t deny it a Best Picture nomination.
Oh, and speaking of Harvey Dent, the official I Love Harvey Dent website is now primed for you to join his campaign.
