Dark and Light

Opening on the same day, Mama Mia! and The Dark Knight present two extreme attitudes about life and love in the modern world. Both are entertaining and both are drastically removed from reality. Christopher Nolan's uber-violent, humorless adventure grabs the viewer by the throat and doesn't let go for a full two hours and thirty minutes. Fueled by a ghoulish and artful performance by the late Heath Ledger as the Joker, the second of Nolan's Batman films is set in a modern Gotham that is obviously Chicago. Gleaming with modern pride, the city is rotting from within. Despite the efforts of the caped crusader and honest law officers, the city has fallen into the hands of the Joker. Some reviewers have called this epic the best of all the Batman movies, but they forget several qualities necessary for such praise, humor and the creation of an imaginary world that will enthrall viewers. The Dark Knight has little of either. Think back to Tim Burton's trippy Batman, in which Gotham City was freakish amusement park with Jack Nicholson's Joker conducting the mayhem. The incredible art deco sets matched with the decaying monuments of buildings provided a perfect setting for darkness and fun. The grand finale, with its allusions to Hunchback of Notre Dame and Phantom of the Opera, takes place in a crumbling Gothic cathedral that resembles Gaudi's Barcelona cathedral in its last stages. Burton and composer Danny Elfman create a world of dark beauty and funky fun while the composers for The Dark Knight provide too much bombast, sometimes so loud we can't hear the dialogue. Credit Nolan with great action sequences and a great cast, but his take on Batman lacks humor, music, and hope.

On the other extreme there is the new film version of Mama Mia! which offers a large cast of talented actors the chance to run amok on a dazzlingly beautiful Greek island. Almost anyone who breathes knows the music of the Swedish pop group ABBA, whether they want to or not. The infectious, sometimes infecting beat lifts the banal lyrics to almost operatic heights. Consider Meryl Streep as she belts out "The Winner Takes It All," to a non-plussed and almost non-singing Pierce Brosnan. The film version of the amazingly popular musical which is still running on Broadway and all over the world seems less clunky than the play. New dialogue and character dialogue give the slight story a humorous boost, and the cast has a ball with all the silliness. Streep, who may be a bit mature for a former free spirit and leader of a girls' Bangles-like group, gives her role the energy, joy, and even the sadness it needs while Christine Baranski almost steals the film as a randy divorcee. When the group belts out "Dancing Queen" in their full glitter and boots regalia, only a thug from The Dark Knight could resist. The film also puts a new spin on the ancient Greek chorus, employing all the locals to comment on and participate in Streep's romantic dilemmas. Like Streep, they race around the island, dive into the sea, and dance the film away. You should too.