Batman Begins Death of Parents Scene Issue

[da3dl3us]

I know people are very touchy about critiques, so I'll put a disclaimer that I'm a HUGE Batman fan and I really liked BB.

But I noticed when watching the movie the first time and subsequent times, that the scene where Bruce's parents wasn't very moving or emotional. Sure, it has some notion of that, merely because it's an oft remembered scene in Batman mythos. But I can't really place my finger on why the scene didn't move me. And I've been moved by scenes in Spider-man 1 with the death of Uncle Ben, or in Spider-man 2 with Aunt May giving Peter her last $20 for his birthday (both great actors).

Maybe it's because the scene went so fast and really give it the breathing room it needed. I'm thinking there should have been some slow motion, or maybe a delayed reaction by Thomas Wayne after getting shot, like a sense of disbelieve that this is really happening.

Maybe it's because I felt young Bruce wasn't very expressive. I noticed this in the Alfred scene when he really didn't do a good job crying. I don't mean like bawling out loud or anything. If he was to play a kid in shock, then he should be more, catatonic. Or I would have at least have him whimper or weep a bit. Maybe they should have had some blood on Bruce's face (as in some retellings).

I wished they also have an isometric aerial view, panning out with two streetlights on each parent, with Bruce holding each hand with him face tilting down, again demonstrating his shock and disbelief, with a bit of whimpering.

And on a similar note, I felt a scene with Bruce visiting his parents grave or crime alley was really needed. Or at least a scene with him as a child at their grave making a promise to rid the city of its sickness.

Maybe it's just my filmmaker instincts coming to play...

 

[Cain]

I've got issues with this scene too. That kid was bad so that didn't help, Linus Roache and Michael Caine carried the young Bruce Wayne scenes. Hell Gary Oldman's scene with him was like 4 years worth of acting lessons for him. So his reactions to the faust play really didn't sell what influenced them to leave in the first place.

I know they were following a theme (fear...Fear....FEAR!!!) and the inclusion of faust was also an allegory for Batman and Ra's but a lot of came across as false and forced to me. Also the cinematography while consistent with the look of the film didn't really set any atmosphere for me during that scene. Call me a purist but I guess I'm too attached to the seedy dark alley that looks like the pits, parents and there son walking away from The Mark of Zorro happy, the irony is that the son becomes an orphan that night thanks to a murdering thief.

Cue the sheltered boy finally realizing what the real world is like and how harsh it could be, the vow etc.

Still the best Batman movie around but I do feel it could've been better, but hey the sequels coming and sequels are usually "bigger and better" in the case of Batman Begins that's a good thing t:

 

[Sun_Down]

I rather liked the death scene, but it could've been longer.

Personally, I thought the best flashback was Thomas teaching Bruce how to use the stethoscope. I was really moved by that one. Definitely a more-is-less situation.

 

[Dark Phantom]

I completely agree with you da3dl3us, but I think I can give an excuse for Nolan's cinematography in that scene. Notice throughout the film, Nolan never uses slow-motion. Everything that is seen in the film is shot in real time. The fight scenes: close-up, in-your-face action where you can't find the point of reference. That's how we see fights when we're in them. My guess is Nolan wnated to take the "real" approach. I'm not talking about "realistically" , I mean from the perspective of a grown adult searching through repressed memories of a murder he witnessed. I guess the quick shots just represent how quick and sudden the murder was for him.

while that sounds good on paper, the execution just didn't leave that much of an impact. If it was supposed to give that "quick" interpretation, then their should have been an element of shock. yet even that was missing. It just didn't do anything for me.

 

[da3dl3us]

I completely agree with you da3dl3us, but I think I can give an excuse for Nolan's cinematography in that scene. Notice throughout the film, Nolan never uses slow-motion. Everything that is seen in the film is shot in real time. The fight scenes: close-up, in-your-face action where you can't find the point of reference. That's how we see fights when we're in them. My guess is Nolan wnated to take the "real" approach. I'm not talking about "realistically" , I mean from the perspective of a grown adult searching through repressed memories of a murder he witnessed. I guess the quick shots just represent how quick and sudden the murder was for him.

while that sounds good on paper, the execution just didn't leave that much of an impact. If it was supposed to give that "quick" interpretation, then their should have been an element of shock. yet even that was missing. It just didn't do anything for me.

I think you hit it right there. It was almost documentary like in its execution, but you know it isn't real per say, so it doesn't leave that impact.

And you're right, slow motion isn't a technique Nolan uses (I'm biased, I love using it in my films), and he loves the quick cuts. And I think it works in many places, such as the initial night out. But Batman is such a classic, romanticized character, you kind of have to use some traditional film techniques at times.

Maybe my view of death scene is epitomized in this quote from a obscure anime, Fist of the North Star:

""Death shouldn't be rushed, one should savor it like fine wine and enjoy it's aroma."

 

[BubbaGump]

I hate slow-mo in movies, but I wouldn't have objected to it during the Wayne murder scenes. It really needed it.

 

[Papa Burgundy]

i thought it was a great scene and it was pretty sad. the flashbacks when he thinks about his parents were pretty sad too.

 

[Damiean Dark]

I wasnt a big fan of the parent scenes they carried zero emotional weight for me did his mother even get a line in the movie?. I would have been great if Nolan could have got two great actors for these small but crutial roles say george clooney and nicole kidman, yeah yeah i know it never would happen but it would have been great though!

 

[Agentsands77]

I like the scene... but I do think it could have been drawn out just a little longer. We could have held on the isolation in the alley for a bit more, letting that really sink in.

 

[Paste Pot Pete]

It was blunt and quick. I know people miss the operatic tone of the Burton movies, but I found this scene to be more effective. Alive one second, dead the next.

 

[BubbaGump]

did his mother even get a line in the movie?

How can say that?! She said, "What's wrong, Bruce?"

Maybe she'll have flashbacks in TDK, as Begins was more focused on the father.

 

[TwilightPro101]

I thought it was effective. I didn't find that that it needed to be reinforced too much since it was Bruce's main drive. I mean it was effective enough without going overthetop and continually emphasizing it.

 

[da3dl3us]

I thought it was effective. I didn't find that that it needed to be reinforced too much since it was Bruce's main drive. I mean it was effective enough without going overthetop and continually emphasizing it.

Well, the whole point is Bruce is driven by that traumatic event in his life. I think emphasis is needed, and I felt a scene involving a visit to his parents grave was much needed.

But I'm sure Nolan realizes that, and will put it in the sequel.

 

[Damiean Dark]

Its his main drive, everything about him is tied to the death of his parents so why didnt i give two cents about them in thier scenes? considering this is the origin story where we are get inside bruce's motivation and drive the parents where given no time and the actors playing the parents sucked it was a giant waste IMO.

 

[mcflytrap]

I've got issues with this scene too. That kid was bad so that didn't help, Linus Roache and Michael Caine carried the young Bruce Wayne scenes. Hell Gary Oldman's scene with him was like 4 years worth of acting lessons for him. So his reactions to the faust play really didn't sell what influenced them to leave in the first place.

I know they were following a theme (fear...Fear....FEAR!!!) and the inclusion of faust was also an allegory for Batman and Ra's but a lot of came across as false and forced to me. Also the cinematography while consistent with the look of the film didn't really set any atmosphere for me during that scene. Call me a purist but I guess I'm too attached to the seedy dark alley that looks like the pits, parents and there son walking away from The Mark of Zorro happy, the irony is that the son becomes an orphan that night thanks to a murdering thief.

Cue the sheltered boy finally realizing what the real world is like and how harsh it could be, the vow etc.

Still the best Batman movie around but I do feel it could've been better, but hey the sequels coming and sequels are usually "bigger and better" in the case of Batman Begins that's a good thing t:

Faust? I didn't think that play they were watching was Faust.

 

[mcflytrap]

I rather liked the death scene, but it could've been longer.

Personally, I thought the best flashback was Thomas teaching Bruce how to use the stethoscope. I was really moved by that one. Definitely a more-is-less situation.

Absolutely. That one got me every time.

 

[Heatwave]

I know people are very touchy about critiques, so I'll put a disclaimer that I'm a HUGE Batman fan and I really liked BB.

But I noticed when watching the movie the first time and subsequent times, that the scene where Bruce's parents wasn't very moving or emotional. Sure, it has some notion of that, merely because it's an oft remembered scene in Batman mythos. But I can't really place my finger on why the scene didn't move me. And I've been moved by scenes in Spider-man 1 with the death of Uncle Ben, or in Spider-man 2 with Aunt May giving Peter her last $20 for his birthday (both great actors).

Maybe it's because the scene went so fast and really give it the breathing room it needed. I'm thinking there should have been some slow motion, or maybe a delayed reaction by Thomas Wayne after getting shot, like a sense of disbelieve that this is really happening.

Maybe it's because I felt young Bruce wasn't very expressive. I noticed this in the Alfred scene when he really didn't do a good job crying. I don't mean like bawling out loud or anything. If he was to play a kid in shock, then he should be more, catatonic. Or I would have at least have him whimper or weep a bit. Maybe they should have had some blood on Bruce's face (as in some retellings).

I wished they also have an isometric aerial view, panning out with two streetlights on each parent, with Bruce holding each hand with him face tilting down, again demonstrating his shock and disbelief, with a bit of whimpering.

And on a similar note, I felt a scene with Bruce visiting his parents grave or crime alley was really needed. Or at least a scene with him as a child at their grave making a promise to rid the city of its sickness.

Maybe it's just my filmmaker instincts coming to play...

You know, you're right on that point. Completely. Now that I look back on it, that's kinda the same way that they played out the scene in the first of the four Batman movies they made a few years ago. The major difference there was that the first of those four movies was really dark and dramatic, and so the memory scene of Bruce's parents getting killed was a bit more dramatic. But even in that movie, there was a scene where he visited the site of his parents' death and dropped off a couple of roses as a grave marker, unknowingly viewed by the reporter Vicki Vale.

On the other hand, despite that small error, I think the movie was closer by far to the comics and the original story on so many levels. For example, Bruce's quest to find whatever it was that he was missing in his life and him finding Raz Al'ghul (or however you spell that - sorry). His training with Raz was good, too, and the dark style of the comics was put into the movie as well. At least, that's how I perceived the movie. I loved the movie, but yeah - that one part (the memory of his parents' death) could have been improved upon, I think.

 

[da3dl3us]

You know, you're right on that point. Completely. Now that I look back on it, that's kinda the same way that they played out the scene in the first of the four Batman movies they made a few years ago. The major difference there was that the first of those four movies was really dark and dramatic, and so the memory scene of Bruce's parents getting killed was a bit more dramatic. But even in that movie, there was a scene where he visited the site of his parents' death and dropped off a couple of roses as a grave marker, unknowingly viewed by the reporter Vicki Vale.

On the other hand, despite that small error, I think the movie was closer by far to the comics and the original story on so many levels. For example, Bruce's quest to find whatever it was that he was missing in his life and him finding Raz Al'ghul (or however you spell that - sorry). His training with Raz was good, too, and the dark style of the comics was put into the movie as well. At least, that's how I perceived the movie. I loved the movie, but yeah - that one part (the memory of his parents' death) could have been improved upon, I think.

Definitely, I'm not saying this scene takes away from the movie as a whole. BB is still one of the best superhero films made and in my opinion, tied with B89 (which also has its downsides).

Essentially, BB gets more right then it does wrong. I wish that scene was more dreamlike, as earlier mentioned, because in essence, Bruce is remembering it as a dream/flashback ("What do you fear Mr. Wayne?).

Maybe if the movie was linear, then the way it was filmed would make sense. But again, since it was a flashback, it should have an ethereal feeling to it.

 

[BubbaGump]

Faust? I didn't think that play they were watching was Faust.

It was Mefistofele.

 

[The Sage]

I gotta agree here. The death scene felt kind of rushed, not leaving too much time for emotion.

 

[bcgvh]

Now that you mention it, I hated that kid's acting in the movie. It was horrible for the most part. The weakest links in BB was that kid and Katie Holmes if you ask me.....everyone else was spectacular. I doubt that we have any acting complaints in TDK though.

 

[da3dl3us]

Now that you mention it, I hated that kid's acting in the movie. It was horrible for the most part. The weakest links in BB was that kid and Katie Holmes if you ask me.....everyone else was spectacular. I doubt that we have any acting complaints in TDK though.

Funny you say that. I remember watching the movie for the first time, when young Bruce steals Rachael's arrow, and says "my garden", I was like, man, young Bruce is a jerk. t:

 

[BubbaGump]

Funny you say that. I remember watching the movie for the first time, when young Bruce steals Rachael's arrow, and says "my garden", I was like, man, young Bruce is a jerk. t:

His territoriality worsens as he becomes Batman:

"My City."

 

[Damiean Dark]

But I'm sure Nolan realizes that, and will put it in the sequel.

But it was Batman BEGINS all the background stuff should have been done in the first movie so TDK can focus on batman and the joker.

 

[Heatwave]

LMAO What next - my state? LOL

But seriously...yeah, I thought that too for second. Then I thought: "Kids will be kids.