Matthew Modine as Foley

[darkest_knight]

Fucking hell.... seriously? It's so obvious.

I'm not saying that Full Metal Jacket is directly linked to the plot of the The Dark Knight Rises. What I am referring to is the triangle between Private Pyle, Private Joker, and Sergeant Hartmann. If you do a character study of each character, each is both a villain and either a hero or a victim.

Most of the time when we think of "triangles" we think of love triangles (i.e. Bruce Wayne, Rachel Dawes, Harvey Dent). But there are non-romantic triangles as well. Private Joker in this scene witnesses a tragic event. This event obviously scars him and changes his character in the film. It defines him.

Nixon will be be a part of at least two triangles in the movie. His role in the film is determined by the identities of the other two people in his triangle. He is at least part of the Gordon-Blake triangle. Gordon is already a hero, but is taken out at some point in the film. His purity is tinged by the fact that he is willing to break rules and lie in order to fight evil (i.e. cover up Harvey Dent in order to keep goons in prison). Blake and Nixon are not yet clearly defined, but Nixon seems to be having a heroic moment during the cops vs mercs battle. Blake is a young cop who walks the straight and narrow, but realizes along the way that sometimes you have to bend the rules to do the right thing.

The roles of Blake and Gordon in the triangle almost dictates the role of Nixon in the film.

Nixon will be a corrupt law enforcement officer of considerable rank in the beginning of the film who has shady dealings and connections. But his character arc will either dictate that he is The Victim, The Observer, or The Villain if the triangle is the same as the one for Private Joker in Full Metal Jacket. But if you accept the duality of human nature, what will likely happen is that Nixon will begin the film as a corrupt law enforcement officer but ultimately lay down his life in one selfless act during the final battle.

Nothing is static. Everything is moving.

I could write more on this subject. But I just wanted to share my thoughts about this. I was really hoping for a bit more film analysis from my fellow Nolan Fans... but I can spoon feed it too.

[mchekhov]

Fucking hell.... seriously? It's so obvious.

I'm not saying that Full Metal Jacket is directly linked to the plot of the The Dark Knight Rises. What I am referring to is the triangle between Private Pyle, Private Joker, and Sergeant Hartmann. If you do a character study of each character, each is both a villain and either a hero or a victim.

Most of the time when we think of "triangles" we think of love triangles (i.e. Bruce Wayne, Rachel Dawes, Harvey Dent). But there are non-romantic triangles as well. Private Joker in this scene witnesses a tragic event. This event obviously scars him and changes his character in the film. It defines him.

Nixon will be be a part of at least two triangles in the movie. His role in the film is determined by the identities of the other two people in his triangle. He is at least part of the Gordon-Blake triangle. Gordon is already a hero, but is taken out at some point in the film. His purity is tinged by the fact that he is willing to break rules and lie in order to fight evil (i.e. cover up Harvey Dent in order to keep goons in prison). Blake and Nixon are not yet clearly defined, but Nixon seems to be having a heroic moment during the cops vs mercs battle. Blake is a young cop who walks the straight and narrow, but realizes along the way that sometimes you have to bend the rules to do the right thing.

The roles of Blake and Gordon in the triangle almost dictates the role of Nixon in the film.

Nixon will be a corrupt law enforcement officer of considerable rank in the beginning of the film who has shady dealings and connections. But his character arc will either dictate that he is The Victim, The Observer, or The Villain if the triangle is the same as the one for Private Joker in Full Metal Jacket. But if you accept the duality of human nature, what will likely happen is that Nixon will begin the film as a corrupt law enforcement officer but ultimately lay down his life in one selfless act during the final battle.

Nothing is static. Everything is moving.

I could write more on this subject. But I just wanted to share my thoughts about this. I was really hoping for a bit more film analysis from my fellow Nolan Fans... but I can spoon feed it too.

well maybe if you had said that the dynamic between the 3 characters is what you were referring to...you didn't say that. You said that the scene is the backstory for the character, which suggested a completely different thing


its an interesting idea though. Plausible stuff.

it also ties Blake with my theory

blake is about law, and batman isnt within the bounds of that....perhaps when Blake realizes that bending the rules can be good, he takes up the mantle for Batman

[thedisabledcubicle]

darkest_knight is clearly trolling. If he has a theory, then he hasn't properly formed it yet and is waiting for someone to propose a wild rosetta stone that will set him off.

There's nothing to suggest that TDKR is going to be anything like Full Metal Jacket, and Modine's inclusion is perhaps more of a personal wish for Nolan than anything connected to either films.
I don't think Modine got the credit or exposure he deserved for FMJ and maybe Nolan, like a Kubrick-reincarnate*, wants to give him a pay-day.

*Massive joke. Calm down.

[thedisabledcubicle]

Nevermind. Just read his theory, and I don't buy it.

I'll agree that from those archetypes; Gordon is clearly a Victim, but there's nothing as yet to confirm that Modine is a Villain-turned-Hero. Personally, I think the way he fires at the rebels is pretty villainous.

But then, I don't think that these three characters will necessarily perform a triangle in this way. Who's to say that Gordon, Blake and Selina don't form their own triangle. And Nixon is a part of Mayor and Fox's triangles, or Miranda and someone else.

You could put them together as 'law enforcers', but what about Blake's team (Sunjata?) or consider how the group of law enforcers themselves form a meta-triangle with 'villains' and 'heroes'.

There's something in it, but it's almost impossible to consider a character arc or narrative-theme without the final product or a script.

[steveportee]

Fucking hell.... seriously? It's so obvious.

I'm not saying that Full Metal Jacket is directly linked to the plot of the The Dark Knight Rises. What I am referring to is the triangle between Private Pyle, Private Joker, and Sergeant Hartmann. If you do a character study of each character, each is both a villain and either a hero or a victim.

Most of the time when we think of "triangles" we think of love triangles (i.e. Bruce Wayne, Rachel Dawes, Harvey Dent). But there are non-romantic triangles as well. Private Joker in this scene witnesses a tragic event. This event obviously scars him and changes his character in the film. It defines him.

Nixon will be be a part of at least two triangles in the movie. His role in the film is determined by the identities of the other two people in his triangle. He is at least part of the Gordon-Blake triangle. Gordon is already a hero, but is taken out at some point in the film. His purity is tinged by the fact that he is willing to break rules and lie in order to fight evil (i.e. cover up Harvey Dent in order to keep goons in prison). Blake and Nixon are not yet clearly defined, but Nixon seems to be having a heroic moment during the cops vs mercs battle. Blake is a young cop who walks the straight and narrow, but realizes along the way that sometimes you have to bend the rules to do the right thing.

The roles of Blake and Gordon in the triangle almost dictates the role of Nixon in the film.

Nixon will be a corrupt law enforcement officer of considerable rank in the beginning of the film who has shady dealings and connections. But his character arc will either dictate that he is The Victim, The Observer, or The Villain if the triangle is the same as the one for Private Joker in Full Metal Jacket. But if you accept the duality of human nature, what will likely happen is that Nixon will begin the film as a corrupt law enforcement officer but ultimately lay down his life in one selfless act during the final battle.

Nothing is static. Everything is moving.

I could write more on this subject. But I just wanted to share my thoughts about this. I was really hoping for a bit more film analysis from my fellow Nolan Fans... but I can spoon feed it too.

Triangle Man confirmed!!!

[darkest_knight]

darkest_knight is clearly trolling. If he has a theory, then he hasn't properly formed it yet and is waiting for someone to propose a wild rosetta stone that will set him off.

There's nothing to suggest that TDKR is going to be anything like Full Metal Jacket, and Modine's inclusion is perhaps more of a personal wish for Nolan than anything connected to either films.
I don't think Modine got the credit or exposure he deserved for FMJ and maybe Nolan, like a Kubrick-reincarnate*, wants to give him a pay-day.

*Massive joke. Calm down.

I think that by now you should give me the benefit of a doubt.

Nevermind. Just read his theory, and I don't buy it.

I'll agree that from those archetypes; Gordon is clearly a Victim, but there's nothing as yet to confirm that Modine is a Villain-turned-Hero. Personally, I think the way he fires at the rebels is pretty villainous.

But then, I don't think that these three characters will necessarily perform a triangle in this way. Who's to say that Gordon, Blake and Selina don't form their own triangle. And Nixon is a part of Mayor and Fox's triangles, or Miranda and someone else.

You could put them together as 'law enforcers', but what about Blake's team (Sunjata?) or consider how the group of law enforcers themselves form a meta-triangle with 'villains' and 'heroes'.

There's something in it, but it's almost impossible to consider a character arc or narrative-theme without the final product or a script.

My lead in was really just for attention. But I have genuine ideas on this subject. Obviously, everything about this film is speculation until we actually see it. However, the character triangle is something that Nolan has used in the past and this scene from Full Metal Jacket is an example of how the great Stanley Kubrick used a triangle. It just happened to have Modine in it. My "red herring," if you will.

Now, imagine for a second that instead of the traumatizing scene where Private Pyle blows Sgt. Hartmaan away and then offs himself, all in front of Private Joker... you have Bane (the villain), Batman (the victim), and Modine (the onlooker).

More later.

[thedisabledcubicle]

It's not a bad reasoning or theory. It's quite realistic really as almost every dramatic piece since the ancient Greeks conforms to certain rules, but I still think it's a moot point.

You lead us into this Wonderland with a bold, blunt and unconfirmed statement and then failed to deliver us any evidence. I've all the reason to be skeptical of your theory if you seem to enjoy teasing it rather than providing solid evidence or theory. Now that you have provided your idea in full; I can accept it, but you've rubbed me up the wrong way.

To expand upon your theory earnestly; in TDK's finale it could be argued that Gordon clearly fits the victim/observer, Batman observer/hero/villain and Harvey hero/villain.

And there you have your problem; in modern narrative, the lines between these character types are far too blurred to really consider as an intention. Nolan won't be thinking 'I've got Bane and Batman in the final showdown, but which character needs to be there to observe it?'

Besides, if anyone's going to form a triangle in the final showdown it'll be

Talia

.

Enough.

[darkest_knight]

It's not a bad reasoning or theory. It's quite realistic really as almost every dramatic piece since the ancient Greeks conforms to certain rules, but I still think it's a moot point.

It's not a moot point. It's character analysis.

You lead us into this Wonderland with a bold, blunt and unconfirmed statement and then failed to deliver us any evidence. I've all the reason to be skeptical of your theory if you seem to enjoy teasing it rather than providing solid evidence or theory. Now that you have provided your idea in full; I can accept it, but you've rubbed me up the wrong way.

It was not my intention to "rub you the wrong way" and especially not my intention to rub you the "right way."

To expand upon your theory earnestly; in TDK's finale it could be argued that Gordon clearly fits the victim/observer, Batman observer/hero/villain and Harvey hero/villain.

And there you have your problem; in modern narrative, the lines between these character types are far too blurred to really consider as an intention. Nolan won't be thinking 'I've got Bane and Batman in the final showdown, but which character needs to be there to observe it?'

Well, the final showdown will not be Matthew Modine. He is not one of the principles. However, in the Gordon-Blake-Nixon triangle we know that Gordon is the good cop who breaks the law in order to be good... Nixon could be the cop that keeps the law in order to be bad. Or the bad cop who keeps the law in order to attack the good (i.e. Batman). The reason Nixon's role is still slightly undefined is that Blake's role is still slightly undefined. However, if we make an assumption about Blake's character (namely, that he is a good cop that turns vigilante) then we can assume that Nixon is a corrupt cop, who possibly sided with Bane at some point, but doesn't want to get caught up in the wrath of the Bat and decides to put on a good show. One of the Bane mercs is seen hitting him with a Tumbler, but that could be the justice of irony.

Now if you guys were really led on a wild goose chase by my "watch this 10x" post... that is what writers call a "grabber." It is another important plot device that most contemporary writers use, and especially in film.

When I said "backstory" for Nixon... I probably should have written "in depth character analysis from a prior role that might lend insight into his current role in Nolan's latest picture, the Dark Knight Rises..." but it didn't have that razzle dazzle...

[mchekhov]

Why didn't "The Dark Knight Rises" shoot at Occupy Wall Street?

The wisdom of Christopher Nolan and his incredible team was that, while it seemed like a good idea to give [the protestors] an opportunity for work, to give them money, it would send a terrible message. At the end of the day, we're making a movie. What's happening down there is more important than that. To co-opt what's happening there and around the country… we didn't want to trivialize it. It was more important to respect what they're doing than to do anything that could potentially trivialize the political situation downtown.

Considering that your short film deals with the ills of capitalism, were you excited to play a character in "The Dark Knight" named "Nixon"?

I'm not allowed to talk about [the film], but there's a lot of misinformation. I don't know who created it, but it's kind of fun to have everybody speculating about it.

[darkest_knight]

I'm not allowed to talk about [the film], but there's a lot of misinformation. I don't know who created it, but it's kind of fun to have everybody speculating about it.

Where is this interview from, BTW?