When will we appreciate that Bane was born in the fire?
One of my favorite things about people doing press tours is the statements they make about past work. While out promoting, it's fun to see people talk about their past projects and reveal how they carry their perception.
And Christopher Nolan is no exception.
During a recent interview on MTV’s “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, Nolan said that Tom Hardy’s performance as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises has yet to be “fully appreciated” by us all.
“There’s no safety net for any of these guys and Tom, I mean… what he did with that character has yet to be fully appreciated. It’s an extraordinary performance, and truly amazing,” Nolan said. “The voice, the relationship between just seeing the eyes and the brow. We had all these discussions about the mask and what it would reveal and what it wouldn’t reveal, and one of the things I remember him saying to me, he sort of put his finger up to his temple and his eyebrow and said, ‘Can you give me this to play with? Let people see this.’”
Nolan added, “Sure enough, you see there in the film, this kind of Brando-esque brow, expressing all kinds of just monstrous things. It’s really quite a performance.”
I know Nolan wasn't talking about me because I found Bane to be one of the most fun villains in recent memory. It's hard to really take into account whether or not audiences were given the chance to embrace Bane. I think the sound work on his voice will always be hard for people to get the first time they watch.
As the movie ages and as you see it multiple times, it does get much easier to understand, and the character reveals about him get more powerful. Still, this is a performance given where most of the actor's face is obscured, so we do have to pay very close attention to get most of the breadth of what he brings to the table.
Are you a Bane-appreciator? Would you be brave enough to create a character whose face is obscured?
Let us know in the comments.
Your Comment
4 Comments
I got excited thinking there was a competition for people dubbing their voice over Tom Hardy’s and got excited. Can that please be a thing?
February 2, 2021 at 12:35AM
Hear hear.
February 2, 2021 at 6:30AM
Tom Hardy is a great actor. Not sure I like the story of that movie, seems a bit contrived. Maybe I'll give it another go.
February 2, 2021 at 6:30AM
Original comic book Bane was a much stronger version that the Dark Night version. Although those movies are insanely good, I was disappointed by how Bane was portrayed.
February 2, 2021 at 10:54AM