In Batman Begins, most people would say that the protagonist and antagonist rivalry is between Batman and Rahz, or arguably Scarecrow. Though I believe that the back and forth between Rachel Dawes and Jonathan Crane is interesting, and shows off the strengths of the characters with little to no physical power, only intellect.
In the first scene we see them in together, the scene cuts to show Jonathan appearing in court, testifying for a criminal to be moved to his asylum. The mid shot of him shows his calm expression, and his dialogue also helps to promote the fact he’s confident and sure of himself. While we aren’t shown the reaction of anyone else in the courtroom straight off, we see the criminal in question smirking. This suggests that Crane is playing the court exactly how he wants, and doing an excellent job at fooling the judge. Immediately after, there’s a mid shot of Rachel, looking annoyed, packing away her notes – looking like she’s given up for now after losing the case to keep the criminal in jail.
The next scene proves this point right, as Rachel hurriedly chases after Crane, questioning him about why he admitted another criminal to his asylum. The two shot given shows them on equal grounds. Their both the same height, so neither has an intimidation advantage. Crane responds to Rachel’s questions but keeps looking forward, possibly symbolising looking ahead towards a greater goal instead of focusing on minor problems like her. Rachel’s attention seems focused on finding out Cranes intentions, determined to set the law down and keep the ‘thugs in jail’.
The two have a small over the shoulder shot conversation, showing Rachel standing as a block in the road for Crane, as his plans can’t move forward with her being so persistent. He simply keeps his cool and wears a smug look as he beings to use terms and knowledge from his job field as an excuse for his actions. This shows he’s very knowledgeable in what he does, and very confident he can get away with near enough anything he tries.
As Crane begins to leave, sure he’s won the argument Rachel’s final statement is “or the corrupted.” Hinting that Crane is corrupted and working against the law for some dark motive. As if to provoke her a bit, Crane then turns to Rachel’s boss and tells him to “check what implications [he’s] authorised [her] to make, if any.” And walks on, leaving her behind. This shows that he’s not only corrupted with ill intentions, but pretty much has the judge and jury in the palm of his hand, being able to push away questions and accusations in an instant.
At the end of this scene we also see Rachel’s reaction to her boss, Carl, saying he’s more worried about protecting her. She acknowledges his interest in her, but brushes him off, more focused on stopping crime thugs from taking over the city and living honestly by the law.
The two have a small over the shoulder shot conversation, showing Rachel standing as a block in the road for Crane, as his plans can’t move forward with her being so persistent. He simply keeps his cool and wears a smug look as he beings to use terms and knowledge from his job field as an excuse for his actions. This shows he’s very knowledgeable in what he does, and very confident he can get away with near enough anything he tries.
As Crane begins to leave, sure he’s won the argument Rachel’s final statement is “or the corrupted.” Hinting that Crane is corrupted and working against the law for some dark motive. As if to provoke her a bit, Crane then turns to Rachel’s boss and tells him to “check what implications [he’s] authorised [her] to make, if any.” And walks on, leaving her behind. This shows that he’s not only corrupted with ill intentions, but pretty much has the judge and jury in the palm of his hand, being able to push away questions and accusations in an instant.
At the end of this scene we also see Rachel’s reaction to her boss, Carl, saying he’s more worried about protecting her. She acknowledges his interest in her, but brushes him off, more focused on stopping crime thugs from taking over the city and living honestly by the law.
This isn’t the only scene where we see Rachel’s headstrong, law abiding attitude – or Cranes sneaky, psychological trickery.
In a latter scene, we see their rivalry once again, when Rachel comes down to the asylum to question Crane about Falconi. From the first mid shot we see, she has a very strong determined glare angled at Falconi. This shows her despise for him, and the fact that her determination to prove crane wrong has only increased since last time they met. As Crane turns up and another over the shoulder conversation begins, She questions his report, pushing Crane to slip up and give off a hint at what’s going on. Cranes dialogue in response to her question, what’s scarecrow?” seems very informative and almost rehearsed. He’s obviously had a lot of thought into this, and seems a little proud at naming the external tormentor.
In a latter scene, we see their rivalry once again, when Rachel comes down to the asylum to question Crane about Falconi. From the first mid shot we see, she has a very strong determined glare angled at Falconi. This shows her despise for him, and the fact that her determination to prove crane wrong has only increased since last time they met. As Crane turns up and another over the shoulder conversation begins, She questions his report, pushing Crane to slip up and give off a hint at what’s going on. Cranes dialogue in response to her question, what’s scarecrow?” seems very informative and almost rehearsed. He’s obviously had a lot of thought into this, and seems a little proud at naming the external tormentor.
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