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| http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/8900000/Michelle-Pfeiffer-catwoman-selina-kyle-8971857-446-480.jpg
Catwoman has always
been a staple of the Batman universe that no one really knows quite what she
is. In all of her incarnations, really only two things remain with her: her
normal, tamer side is Selina Kyle, and she changes (usually at night) into
Catwoman – her more destructive side. I think Burton was able to capture this
well in Batman Returns. She more than
makes up for the boring, uninteresting character of Vicki Vale in Batman, and she provides a new wheel for
the plot in the movie to continue, using Selina Kyle and Catwoman as more or
less two different characters in the same body (like Bruce Wayne/Batman).
“We’re like two sides
of the same thing, cut down the middle.” Batman tells Catwoman something along
the lines of this quote in the scene where he reveals for a second time to
Catwoman who he is. This quote also sums up Batman and Catwoman’s relationship
in a very concise way. One side of both of them (“the Masked Side”) is forever
in conflict with the other, and the other side of both of them is always tame
and cordial to the other (“the Normal Side”). Neither one really knows exactly
what the other has up his or her sleeve. It truly is one of the most
complicated relationships I have ever seen on screen.
With Bruce Wayne,
Selina Kyle is cordial and follows social norms. They both seem very
superficial to one another, and I cannot imagine that the plot of the movie
would go anywhere if it were just these two normal people talking to each other
the entire time. It only really gets interesting when the audience starts to
see the other side leak through both them.
With Batman, Catwoman
is a tricky beast that some could argue is more feline than human. All of their
interactions with each other are pretty much comic-book fights. She uses
seduction on him, and Batman never really seems to be able to predict what she
is going to do next (and he is the World’s Greatest Detective). A perfect
example of this is the last scene, right before she kills Max Schrek (after Bruce
Wayne invites her to live in his Manor, which she denies only after leading him
on a bit).
The Catwoman/Selina
Kyle and Batman/Bruce Wayne relationship is incredibly complicated and Burton
achieves something that he has always said: no one is only one thing.
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Thursday, January 31, 2013
Elkins Batman Returns
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Chuck,
ReplyDeleteIndeed, “no one is only one thing”, and Burton does a great job portraying this in the Selina/Catwoman and Bruce/Batman relationship. I agree with you in that the interesting parts of the relationship are when Selina transforms from being a properly behaved girl into a sassy, seductive, and dangerous woman. In this aspect, the plot becomes more attractive and entertaining than that of Batman’s. With Vicky Vale we got bored, but now we’ve got some action going on. I also agree, and like your description of the “masked side”, which is always in conflict, versus the “normal side” that presents Selina and Bruce acting cordially between each other. This adds up to the Burtonesque dualism of characters, and to that analogy of the coin in which one character belongs to the opposite side of the other character. Batman Returns is more complex in "the relationship" because it has more than Batman in love with a beautiful lady. There is a romantic and hateful relationship between the two characters; two characters, which, by the way, can be considered as four characters.