WHY DO WE FALL:

Analyzing Batman Begins

DISCLAIMER: I grew up on Batman. I had the guy’s clothes, toys, cups, pillow, and even a life-size poster.
I breathed Batman as a child, beginning with Tim Burton’s version in 1989. Some people may argue I still
act like a child… which would probably help explain why I am still enthralled with the idea of a grown
man dressing up in a flying rodent costume (well he does also have really cool gadgets and a Batmobile…
in my defense). But all that aside, when I heard back in the early 2000s that Christopher Nolan was going
to do the new Batman movie, a creatively-liberated reimagining of the origin story free of nippled
rubber suits and campy one-liners, I literally lost my mind. Here was the opportunity for the
amalgamation of two of the greatest things in cinema – the Batman mythology – and
director/writer/producer Nolan – who at that point, had already won me over completely with
Following, Memento, and Insomnia – in my lifetime! I was a fan before film even started rolling on set.
And to my relief (and surprise), the finished product exceeded my expectations in almost every possible
way. So there you have it, my undeniably nerdy but certainly necessary disclaimer before diving into one
of the most solid, profound, and invigorating films in recent history.

The Batman… Begins

Let me start by saying that any movie which begins with a giant mass of swarming bats, spiraling against
a darkened sky, forming the iconic Batman logo on screen is a movie that knows how to set the right
tone (and also, that neutralizes opening credits which more often than not, let’s be honest, just plain
suck).

Right off the bat (no pun intended), we meet young Bruce “Batman” Wayne and childhood friend Rachel
Dawes. But Bruce’s innocent game of finders-keepers in the gardens of the Wayne manor leads to his
descent into bat-hell. He falls down a well and unleashes a swarm of bats, scaring him silly and forever
scarring him (more on this motif of falling later). Then cut to the present-day Bruce, a man lost and
confused, imprisoned somewhere in the Himalayan mountains… scared silly and still scarred.
His cellmate is concerned.

“Did you have dream?”

“Nightmare.”

Well said Mr. Wayne, well said.

After some burly mud wrestling with the local prisoners (Batman’s gotta stay in shape somehow right?),
Bruce meets Ducard, a servant and recruiter for the enigmatic leader of the League of Shadows
assassins, Ra’s Al Ghul. Mr. Ducard is kind enough to remind Bruce that a man of his stature is only in
prison by his own choice and that if he would like, he can go pick a nice blue flower and gift it to the
assassin kingpin. Well Bruce does indeed pick this flower for the man and instead of getting hugs and
chocolates in return, he gets his ass kicked (maybe you should think of getting a card too next time
Bruce). And to add insult to injury, Ducard re-gifts this crap flower back to Bruce and makes him recount
his worst fears… talk about a tough crowd.

The Incident

Cut back to young Bruce, scared straight at the bottom of the well, watching as his father descends
down the well to save him.

“Bruce, why do we fall?”

“So that we can learn to pick ourselves up.”

This notion of ascension/descension throughout the film is pretty prevalent and I’ll expand on it later.
It’s interesting to note however, that the first time we’re introduced to Bruce’s father, he descends into
the underworld to save his son and bring him back up. One could argue that Bruce’s guilt over his
parents’ death began as early as this incident – he had to call on his father to go into harm’s way to save
Bruce. This also runs into another theme of action vs. passivity. At this young age, Bruce doesn’t have
the courage to do anything and fails to take the necessary actions to protect his loved ones. More on
this later.

After a solid scene with his father to establish the universally important paternal figure in a young man’s
life – and to contrast the subsequent substitution for Bruce’s new paternal figure, Ducard - young Bruce
is whisked away to a rather strangely Bat-centric opera. As he watches performers on stage dance
around in bat costumes in what I can only assume to be some demented version of “Cats,” Bruce freaks
out, looks into dear ol’ pop’s eyes and begs to leave the opera. And as a loving father would, he agrees
and they leave.

And thus, this brings us to the infamous death of the Wayne family/birth of the Batman scene. It’s been
told through various incarnations throughout the years, but the essence remains the same. A
hoodlum/criminal tries to rob the Waynes in a dark alley at gunpoint. In the ensuing scuffle, Momma
and Poppa Wayne get shot, leaving young Bruce to mend his own lonely, broken heart. Nolan’s version
stays true to this poignant event but I’d like to point out that Bruce is the reason the family was in such a
situation. Due to Bruce’s inability to conquer his fear of bats, the Wayne family leaves the Opera early.
Arguably, at least in Bruce’s mind, he passively led to the death of his own parents. Nolan also ties the
fear motif into the father motif rather seamlessly in this scene. Poppa Wayne’s last dying words?

“Bruce, don’t be afraid.”

Encouraging words to prompt young Bruce into action, to convince him that anything is possible,
especially dressing up in a costume and fighting bad guys. To contrast this, in the climax of the film,
when Ducard – Bruce’s new father figure – battles Batman on the city train, what are his words of
“encouragement?”

“Don’t be afraid Bruce.”

That, sir, is probably why Batman let you die. (Note to self: if you’re ever fighting Batman, don’t diss his
daddy)
The Departure

Cut back to Bruce in the Himalayas, now training with the League of Shadows to become not a killer or
executioner or guru or spiritual leader… but instead, a ninja. Yes everyone, take it in, Batman is pretty
much a modern-age ninja. He comes complete with throwing stars (Bat-a-rangs), a mask, stealthy
capabilities, and various fighting techniques and weapons. The one difference in my mind is, again, the
theme of Bruce’s ability to ascend and descend (in this case, via his cape and grapple gun).

After refusing to execute a lowly thief and drawing his line in the sand, Bruce realizes that the League of
Shadows is not for him. This distinction is pretty important as Bruce must decide what makes him any
different than the assassins who actually kill people deserving of death? He vows to capture men like
this but never kill (a rule that will be put to the test when the Joker rolls into town… but that’s a
different story altogether).

Naïve and idealistic Bruce Wayne spits in the face of Ra’s Al Ghul and Ducard (they should have just
accepted his flower, I’m telling you) and proceeds to blow up their mountain home. It’s important to
note here that Bruce decides to safe Ducard’s life almost instinctively in that cool scene of his sliding
down a mountain, anchoring his arm, and subsequently curling a grown man back up the side of a
mountain. Given that Ducard was Bruce’s father figure in this trying time of his life, Bruce takes the
action necessary, this time, to save the ones he cares about.

What does Bruce do after killing dozens of ninjas, blowing up a mountainside assassins training grounds,
and beef-caking someone up a mountain? He boards his private jet, reunites with Alfred the butler, sips
some wine, and returns to Gotham City in hopes of, I would think, doing it all over again! Good man,
Bruce, good man.
The Batman… Actually… Begins

Once back in town, Bruce decides to confront his fears head-on (not trying to plug the ridiculous
headache medicine “Head-On: Apply Directly to the Forehead” here, sorry). He descends back into the
well he feared so much as a child and discovers what will eventually become the bat-cave under the
mansion. It’s interesting to note that Bruce doesn’t run away from the underworld, he confronts it and
more than that, he lives in it. He acknowledges here that he belongs in the underworld, separating
himself from others in society. Then just as it happened when he was young, a giant swarm of bats
explode from the cave walls, engulfing Bruce, threatening to drive him crazy with fear. Bruce recoils. But
then he soaks it in… (hmm bats) and conquers his fear through what psychologists refer to as “exposure
therapy”… I think.

Bruce also runs into Rachel after taking a rather crowded dip in a restaurant fountain one night. As he’s
strolling out the door with European beauties on each arm, Rachel looks on in disgust and amazement.
Not the best first impression you can make on your childhood love Bruce. He tries to convince her that
this image isn’t him, that there’s more to him than playboy-ing.

“Inside, I am more.”

Well, Ms. Dawes doesn’t want to hear it Bruce. She has something of her own to say that ties in rather
nicely with the theme of action vs. passivity, thank you very much.

“It’s not who you are underneath, it’s what you do that defines you.”

Ouch. Give a guy a break. If they were European guys, you’d probably be taking a dip in the restaurant
fountain too Rachel. But nevertheless, Rachel touches on the nagging trait in Bruce that he believes cost
him his parents – his inability to take action and protect his loved ones.

Well Bruce shakes off Rachel’s tongue-lashing and takes her words to heart. The next order of business
for Bruce after conquering his inner demons? Fight some bad guys. Take action. By leveraging help
within his father’s (and now his) company, and enlisting the cooperation of incorruptible cop Jim
Gordon, Bruce assembles the components of his suit.

Kevlar armor? Check.

Ninja gauntlets? Check.

Memory-cloth cape? Check.

Ninj -- er… I mean, bat throwing stars? Check.

Mask? Check.

Supersonic hearing? Check.

Gas-powered grapple gun? Check.

And of course, a badass reimagining of the classic Batmobile – now complete with armor plating,
4 gigantic rear tires, ramp-less jump boosts, and an axle-less front wheel base? Um… Check,
check, and double check.

Bruce begins his fear-striking into the hearts of the criminal underworld by taking down the big boss in
town himself, Carmine Falcone. In his attempt to escape the clutches of some winged demon
pummeling his henchmen, Falcone hastily loads up a shotgun and asks frustratingly:

“What are you?”

Cue the man already! Batman breaks into the limo from above:

“I’m Batman.”

Oh yes. Chills, you may now run down my arms. Smile, you may creep across my face. The movie has
officially introduced the hero. And what does the hero do now? He head-butts the guy (probably most
awesome way to take someone down) and then disappears into the night. Honestly, who wouldn’t want
to be Batman?
The Defeat

Just as Batman begins his crime fighting, a certain Dr. Jonathan Crane from Arkham Asylum begins to
leverage his patented “fear toxin” and threatens to take over the city. Batman investigates… like a ninja
mind you. After growling in his Batman voice at a corrupt lead, Batman scouts Dr. Crane’s shindig in
Gotham’s “Narrows” community. He’s onto something when Crane unexpectedly returns, a scuffle
ensues, and Batman is doused with the dreaded “fear toxin.” Batman, let me introduce you to The
Scarecrow. Scarecrow, this is Batman. You play nice now, you hear? But the Scarecrow’s momma
apparently didn’t teach him that lighting people on fire is wrong… so that’s what he does. A burning
Batman, desperate to put out the fire and scared out of his mind, throws himself into the rain outside
like a bat outta hell (pun intended there). He can’t open his cape though and instead, falls hard on the
ground but manages to put out the fire.

After nearly being burned alive, and with his mind torturing him with his worst fears, Batman uses his
grapple gun and ascends out of the Narrows. This is where this distinction between
ascension/descension pays its dividends (in my mind). As much as Batman can fly up and scale buildings
and soar above society, inside, he knows he belongs underground, hidden below the people he’s trying
to protect, forever trapped at the bottom of the well. How do I know this? In Bruce’s intoxicated mind,
in his most dire time of fear and need, he once again calls for help from the only father he knows –
Alfred. Why is this significant? Cue flashback to Poppa Wayne descending into the well to rescue young
Bruce in his time of dire fear and need.

“Bruce, why do we fall?”

In Bruce’s attempts to ascend above the criminal world, he ultimately only tumbles back down to his
well of fears. In other words, you can’t run before you learn to walk Bruce.

And one last nerd-note, this scene features probably one of the best tracks from Hans Zimmer’s/James
Howard’s score – Talarida.
The Damsel in Distress

As much as Rachel Dawes, now the district attorney of Gotham City, wants to be the heroic female lead,
let’s face it, you’re in a Batman film… you are not the hero! Sorry, not trying to be sexist but that’s just
how superhero movies are. So what do you do? You investigate Dr. Crane and his “fear toxin”
experiments in Arkham Asylum but end up getting doused with the toxin yourself and about to die. Well
at least we’ll get to see Batman rescue you now… and pancake every conceivable object in the path of
the Batmobile on his way back to the cave.

The car is pretty insane sure, but the driving is just plain silly. Honestly, this man either can’t drive… or
seriously loves seeing his car squash everything in its path. I’d say, maybe a little of both. But don’t
worry Ms. Dawes, you’ll get your chance to shine soon enough.

The End Comes Full Circle

As Bruce returns home, it’s his birthday party and everyone’s having a grand ol’ time. But amidst the
crowds of people, Bruce is introduced to a certain familiar man… or at least a man Bruce believes to be
dead – Ra’s Al Ghul. Enter Ducard, the one and only father figure who Bruce saved in the mountains.
“Ra’s Al Ghul” my ass. Bruce questions Ducard’s methods of duplicity:

“Cheap parlor tricks to conceal your true identity Ra’s?”

To which Ducard has a response… and a good one at that:

“Surely a man who spends his nights scrambling over the rooftops of Gotham wouldn’t
begrudge me dual identities?”

Ouch. Can you say, backfire?

Turns out, Ducard has been using Dr. Crane’s fear toxin as a means to wipe out Gotham City. And where
did Crane get this fear toxin you might ask? Well damnit, it’s that crap flower from the Himalayas…
nothing good comes from flowers, I’m telling you. Chocolates are much better. Anyway, Ducard pretty
much deems Gotham City to be a cesspool of corruption and decadence and vows to purge the city of its
past (AKA destroy Gotham). And since Bruce burned his home to the ground, Ducard shall return the
favor and start by destroying Wayne manor (a man with quite a grudge, I’d say). But Bruce, being the
idealistic hero, can’t let him destroy his father’s city. Tempers flare, lines are drawn, mean looks are
exchanged, but Bruce gets knocked out and the bad guys are free to terrorize the helpless city.

That is until, Alfred – the one and only father figure left in Bruce’s life – battles flames and henchmen to
rescue Bruce. And as Bruce watches in horror as his father’s house burns to the ground, Alfred offers
Bruce a tiny nugget of hope.

“Why do you we fall sir?”

“So that we can learn to pick ourselves up.”

Cue the emotional payoff. Cue the paternal love. And cue Batman’s inspiration to go save the city!
Honestly, who doesn’t want to be a superhero?
The Battle for Gotham City

With the Narrows running amok amidst an engulfing wave of fear toxin that’s been released into the air,
Rachel Dawes confronts the Scarecrow who, in the eyes of a fear-intoxicated child, rides a fire-wreathed
horse that snorts flames. Pretty sweet visual, pretty sweet. But as promised, Rachel gets her moment to
shine and sticks a taser right in the Scarecrow’s demented mug, sending him running into the shadows.
Nice aim Rachel, well done.

Nevertheless, Batman rushes in saves Rachel from a pack of crazy goons. She thanks him. He does the
cool hero thing and walks away. She does the damsel thing and asks him who he is.

“It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.”

She gets it. He leaps off the building and what does he do? He soars. Like a winged demon, he flies
above the criminals below him, striking fear into the underworld. Ascension theme thy relevance is
throughout.

Batman finds Ducard gearing up to use the Gotham train system to ignite fear toxin across the entire
city. Ducard smirks and leaves Batman to his goons. But Batman doesn’t smile, he beats people up.

After taking care of the aforementioned bad guys, Batman once again, ascends to finally reach the train
and begins to duel it out with Ducard – ninja style. But as previously mentioned, Ducard commits the
cardinal sin of villain-ing and disrespects Poppa Wayne’s dying words.

“Don’t be afraid Bruce.”

I’m telling you, don’t talk smack about Batman’s daddy. Seriously.

Batman gets the upper hand and pulls out a couple throwing stars, threatening to kill him.

“Have you finally learned to do what is necessary Bruce?”

This time, Bruce lets Ducard die. A fine line is drawn here between actively killing someone who
deserves death (as the League of Shadows believes) and Batman’s philosophy of allowing others to deal
justice, even if he’s indirectly responsible for death (as he believes he was in his parent’s murders).
Batman may not kill people but he’ll let people die – yet another shade of the action vs. passivity theme
(this theme rears its ugly head especially when the Joker comes to town… and speaking of him…)

The Hook

Back at the ruins of the Wayne manor after the city is saved, the well is boarded up, forever closing the
chapter in Bruce’s life when he lived in fear. Rachel comes over and offers Bruce a kiss. All should be
happy. But she tells Bruce that as long as Gotham needs Batman, she can’t be with him.

“Your real face is the one the criminals now fear. The man I loved – the man who vanished – he
never came back at all.”

Way to kill the moment Rachel, geez. But it serves to setup the sequel as Bruce takes up the Batman
mantle and Rachel must sacrifice her love for her man for the betterment of the city… and for crying out
loud, speaking of this damn sequel already…

Batman meets Lieutenant Gordon under the newly-designed Bat-light beaming into the night sky.
Gordon asks him to look into a rising criminal mastermind in town. No name. No info. Just a calling card
the guy leaves at the scene. Batman agrees. Cue the Joker card. Cue nerdy fan-boy excitement. Cue
reinvigorated sense of excitement in the Batman franchise. Cue a smile on my face. Cue credits.

-a.wei