Batman Begins - Character Analysis

In Batman Begins, the viewer’s first impression of Bruce Wayne is that of a man who has lost his way and is searching for an identity. Bruce looks scrappy, picks fights with criminals, and is stuck in an Asian prison. Batman himself is not introduced until over halfway into the movie, and he makes quite the entrance. Criminals glance around scared as an unseen terror picks them off one-by-one. The final thug is startled to see the masked man come from above and attack him.

“You have eaten well as Gotham has starved,” says Batman, “this changes tonight” (Thomas & Nolan 2005).

Batman is motivated to take action following the death of his parents, but he doesn’t find a true purpose or way of doing so until his adult life, when Ra’s al Ghul offers him “the means to fight injustice. To turn fear against those who prey on the fearful” (Thomas & Nolan 2005). Bruce’s goal in Batman Begins is to avenge his parents’ death by cleaning up the city. His parents did a great deal to restore Gotham to greatness, and he does not want them to have died in vain.

Dialogue

When acting as the Batman, Bruce speaks in a deep, muffled voice, to disguise his identity. He uses a laid back, apathetic vocabulary as Bruce, because he is typically playing the role of playboy and millionaire. This speech pattern is perfectly exemplified when he pretends to be drunk at his birthday party, saying, “I wanna thank you all for drinking my booze…now the party’s over. Get out” (Thomas & Nolan 2005). The audience sees this as a façade Bruce uses to hide his secret, but this causes some poor reactions from the characters around him.

Although he remains serious, Bruce always maintains some sense of humor, dropping the occasional one-liner throughout the movie. When Alfred shows Bruce the news coverage of the Batmobile chase and asks, “what do you call this?” Bruce responds, “damn good television”(Thomas & Nolan 2005).

Relationships

Bruce continuously tries to draw closer to Rachel throughout the film. He sees her as his oldest friend and looks to her for approval and guidance in his actions. Bruce had planned to kill his parents’ murderer and Gotham’s main crime boss, and he ultimately changed his mind because of Rachel’s disapproval; Bruce says as much when he says Rachel “made [him] see that justice is about more than [his] own pain and anger” (Thomas & Nolan 2005). Bruce would do anything to be with Rachel, even offering to “give up the life [he] chose” (Thomas & Nolan 2005). Bruce’s relationship with Alfred is friendly and a father-son mentorship, and his relationship with Lucius Fox is playful and relaxed. When acting as Batman, he begins a beneficial relationship with policeman Jim Gordon, though neither fully trusts the other in the beginning.

Rachel loves Bruce, but does not see room for a relationship with him. He has become his new identity, and as long as he is the Batman, Rachel believes she will be unable to have a relationship with him beyond a friendship. Alfred cares for Bruce, but is skeptical of his antics as Batman, believing that he uses it as a form thrill seeking. Lucius sees through Bruce’s charade and wants to help him in his efforts as Batman. Gordon, though skeptical, learns to trust Batman and works with him for the good of the city.

Decisions

Batman directly affects the events of the film in multiple ways. He chooses to save Ra’s al Ghul from death early in the film – which then allows Ra’s to move forward with his plan to destroy Gotham. Bruce is unable to kill his parents’ murderer, which keeps him from going down a dark path from which he may not have recovered. He chooses to trust certain allies in Gotham, such as Rachel and Gordon, and as a result of their teamwork, he is able to successfully save the city from destruction.

English Scholar Jillian Gilmer believes Bruce’s actions and choices are unjust because he is willing to go outside the system.

“Wayne denies the fact that he has a problem and refuses to even discuss it; the continual repression of his inner demon only heightens its volatility, weakens the strength of his moral code, and makes him dangerous in times of emotional passion” (Gilmer 35).

It can also be argued that the police force’s manhunt for Batman is proof of his unjust actions. Batman’s method of fighting crime is so radically outside the law, the police are unable to justify his actions, despite their helpfulness. Despite the questionable morality of Bruce’s actions, their helpfulness cannot be denied. Without Batman’s interventions, Gotham would have been destroyed – either by Ra’s al Ghul’s fear super-weapon, or by the slow increase in criminal activity.

Themes

One major theme in Batman Begins is the search for identity. After talking with Rachel, Bruce realizes that his actual identity means very little: his actions make the difference in Gotham. He reveals his secret identity to Rachel by repeating what she once told him, “It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me” (Thomas & Nolan 2005). Batman exhibits this belief throughout the film; he disregards what people say against him, only looking to his success in cleaning up the city.

Fear is another prominent theme in Batman Begins, rooted in the very thing that begins Bruce’s journey – his parents’ death. His fear of bats ultimately led to the death of his parents.

“Thomas Wayne’s dying words are, ‘Bruce, don’t be afraid.’ But it is a plea that Bruce is not yet strong enough to heed…the guilt he feels over his parents’ death haunts his waking hours” (Parker ebook).

Later in life, he starts his road to vengeance, wanting to prove that not everyone is afraid of the crime bosses and thugs in Gotham. When a crime boss tells him, “you always fear what you don’t understand,” Bruce begins his study of criminals (Thomas & Nolan 2005). Ra’s al Ghul, Bruce’s mentor turned villain, uses fear as a weapon, planning to “watch the city tear itself apart in fear” (Thomas & Nolan 2005).

Batman offering the people freedom from fear has strong Christian ties; Batman’s actions in Gotham parallel what Christians believe Jesus did for them. “In the end the only way to be truly freed from fear is when you find the one stronger than the thing that you fear” (Parker ebook). Batman is stronger than Ra’s al Ghul and his plan, and saves the citizens of Gotham from the fear mechanism. As Batman continues to fight, he continues to free Gotham from the fear of criminals, becoming what Gotham needs him to be (a recurring trend in the trilogy) in order to save them. In a similar way, Jesus became what the world needed him to be – a human – in order to save it. Hebrews 2:14-15 states that Christ became human “so that he might…free those who were held in slavery by their fear.” Director Christopher Nolan recurrently uses Batman as a Christ-like figure in this trilogy, which quite possibly furthers the memorability of the character.

Music

There are three main musical motives that further Batman’s character in the series: wing flaps, an ostinato (two repeated notes that occur frequently), and a theme. The wing flaps in Batman Begins are used to represent the theme of fear. They occur at the film’s onset, as a young Bruce falls into a well and is frightened by a swarm of bats. The flaps also return as Bruce faces his fears against the League of Shadows, and finally as he causes fear among criminals as the Batman.

Batman’s ostinato is the most prominent musical element in the film, used to represent the mystery behind his character, and a question of what he will become. It is present in key scenes in the film, including his discovery of the Batcave, his first successful “arrest” as Batman, and his talk with Gordon at the end of the film.

Batman's ostinato in the strings

Batman’s theme appears only once in this film, during a training scene with Ra’s al Ghul teaching him to fight. The minimal usage of the theme shows that Batman has not truly become himself – the audience can only hear a glimpse of his theme, just as they can only see glimpses of the hero that he is to become.