Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz get to the heart of The Batman story
Robert Pattinson was not even a speck yet in his mother’s womb when Batman emerged in the Detective Comics (DC) universe 83 years ago. Yet, the 35-year-old Hollywood actor cannot be more thankful that in 2019, he was signed on to play the title role in The Batman, written and directed by Matt Reeves and produced by Dylan Clark.
In the past, Batman’s cinematic history has seen a lot of big-name stars step into the character. From Michael Keaton to Val Kilmer to George Clooney to Christian Bale and Ben Affleck. Robert steps into the shoes of The Dark Knight for the first time.
In fact, all of the other characters in the star-studded cast, are also first-timers into The Batman franchise. From Colin Farrell who plays Penguin/Oswald “Oz” Cobblepot to Jeffrey Wright, the first actor of color to portray Lieutenant James Gordon to Paul Dano as The Riddler/serial killer Edward Nashton to Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman/Selina Kyle.
The Batman is a masked vigilante in director Matt Reeves’ version. Still the reclusive billionaire Bruce Wayne, who protects Gotham at all cost, but he is a vigilante to cope with his traumatic past.
After watching Matt’s finished product, Robert was undeniably impressed with what he saw. “Just to see that kind of wave of craftsmanship, I was more and more impressed. I was so unbelievably impressed,” Robert declared.
“It kind of allows for an opening a little bit easy. He fully realized he’s confident his abilities have changed and he’s confident and he’s heroic. I love all the kind of frailties he has. The same when he’s jumping off and using The Cape for the first time. Batman has always been kind of fallible. He’s just a man in the suit. He really, really embraces that so much.”
Interestingly, audiences will see a different relationship between Batman and Lieutenant Gordon. What struck Jeffrey most was that the movie that was on the screen was the movie that was in the script given to all of them.
“The dynamic between Batman and Gordon, it’s the first time onscreen that audiences see them as almost complete partners,” Jeffrey noted. “Desperation, two isolated characters on a sea of mistrust that is Gotham. For Gordon, it’s out of utility.
“For Batman, there is something within the core of the character that we’ve come to know that is honorable there. Perhaps, he recognizes that maybe there’s a strand of that within Gordon, despite the company that he keeps.
“For Gordon, there is something very useful about this guy. He’s not quite sure what it is. He has so few tools of his own, so few partners of his own that he can trust. It really is out of a sense of desperation that he says, ‘Bring him on board’.”
John Turturro, who essays Gotham’s crime lord, Carmine Falcone, was truly happy to be in The Batman. “I couldn’t believe I was in a Batman film,” John attested. “I was really struck by the relationship between Rob and Zoe in the movie. I thought there was something really unusual about what they were doing with each other. I’m delighted to be part of the film.”
Paul plays The Riddler, one of the most high-profile Bat villains, stretching his question mark gimmick as far as it could go. Matt disclosed a real-life The Zodiac Killer (1971) character inspired The Riddler.
“How immersive it was from the opening shot till the end, I love when you watch a movie and the filmmaker takes you to frame one and they are pulling you through right till the end,” Paul granted.
“As an audience member, you have no choice but to give over to the movie. It was just the best feeling to me as an audience member. That’s what this film is. I just can’t wait to see some fans react to this movie now.”
Paul admitted he spent a lot of time thinking about The Batman as he was working on the film playing one of the known villains, The Riddler. “I love the idea that you can’t really have Batman without his villains or his Rogues Gallery,” Paul maintained. “I love that you can have this Riddler without The Batman. I think the dynamic between them, there’s some boundary there that was beautifully explored.
“There’s more murkiness to the morality. It’s less just hero and villain in black and white. It’s not just protecting the status quo. There is something wrong in the city. It’s really complicated to have a villain who, some of his ideas are not wrong, but his execution is a little off. I found that really complicated and compelling.
“I thought that it’s Batman, it’s Gotham. There are these incredible archetypes of work in his history. But I think the contact with reality in this character is also what makes it really scary.”
Zoe Kravitz plays Catwoman/Selina Kyle, stepping into the shoes earlier used by Michelle Pfeiffer and even Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry. Although Zoe secured the plum role after a screen test with Rob, The Batman is not the first time that Zoe is playing Catwoman. She previously voiced the character in the 2017 computer-animated superhero comedy, The Lego Batman Movie.
The chemistry between Zoe as Selina and Robert as Batman is simply electric onscreen. Finding that chemistry instantaneously proved to be easy, since the two have been friends for a long time.
“I think a lot of it (chemistry) was on the page,” Zoe granted. “It was really what Matt wrote. The emotional states of both the characters. The connection that they find in each other and why they connect so, so clear. I feel like it was kind of built-in. These people really both felt alone their entire lives.
“To meet somebody who has a similar way of thinking and that grabs you the way they kind of grab each other, I think it really is the heart of the story. A really big deal for both these characters to feel that way. You know, if you’re attached to your character emotionally, it’s really easy to play that part of it.”
For his part, Robert shared the “reflective experience” working on The Batman: “On massive productions like this, it’s kind of easy to feel quite disconnected to the story because there are so many moving parts and to have another performer, whom you can really see is putting everything into it, it’s a reflective experience where you kind of work harder.”
The Batman has started its regular run in local theaters.
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