Christopher Nolan’s bold, innovative Batman trilogy – often dubbed The Dark Knight trilogy – has been described as one of the greatest achievements in comic book movie history. Nolan managed to bring a realistic edge to the Bat’s mythos without losing the spirit of the source material. He made three of the only superhero movies in history to be taken seriously as real movies. The reviews for all three movies weren’t unanimously positive, but the trilogy as a whole is regarded as a masterpiece of the genre.
One aspect of the trilogy that was particularly praised by critics was its acting. Christian Bale became the definitive Bruce Wayne for a new generation and Heath Ledger more than earned his posthumous Academy Award for his chilling portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime. But, while Bale’s Batman and Ledger’s Joker are often singled out for praise, one of the trilogy’s finest performances remains overlooked.
Gary Oldman’s subdued portrayal of Commissioner Gordon as a family man and grizzled veteran cop in a lawless city is completely underappreciated. Oldman gave one of The Dark Knight trilogy’s most nuanced performances and captured the Gordon character perfectly. He played Gordon as a flawed, recognizable character whose drive to do good didn’t save him from making mistakes. Like a classic film noir protagonist, he’s more committed to his professional life as a lawman than his personal life as a family man.
Oldman would’ve been a shoo-in for a villainous role. He’s proven with his twisted performances as Norman Stansfield in Léon and Drexl Spivey in True Romance and the Count himself in Bram Stoker’s Dracula that he can play an unforgettable baddie. The Bat’s rogues gallery is filled with nefarious foes that Oldman could play, from the psychotic Victor Zsasz to the elusive Riddler. But his pathos-ridden portrayal of Commissioner Gordon has proven that he’s just as capable of giving a layered turn as a tragic, identifiable human being in the midst of a big-budget comic book spectacle.
At his core, Jim Gordon is a guy who, like Batman, will do anything to protect the crime-ridden city he loves. Instead of dressing like a bat, Gordon’s approach was to work his way up the ranks of the police force to become the commissioner and bring about real change. Policing Gotham is an unwinnable war, but Gordon goes into work every day and chips away at the city’s seedy underbelly, one case at a time. Oldman played into this aspect of the character brilliantly. His take on Gordon carries the weight of the world on his shoulders, thanks to a lifetime of sleepless nights solving grisly murders, but he’s always focused on the case at hand.
On top of being the police commissioner, Gordon is also a husband and father. Most Batman movies focus on Gordon’s role as a lawman. He’ll talk to the Caped Crusader at crime scenes or shine the Bat-Signal in the sky to get his attention, but we don’t see much of his personal life. Nolan, on the other hand, took the time to introduce audiences to Gordon’s wife and kids and give them an idea of what his home life is like. Not only did this make the character more relatable and easier to root for; it also gave Oldman plenty of different emotions to work with. His scenes with Melinda McGraw as Gordon’s constantly worried wife are surprisingly powerful. Oldman’s Gordon is torn between his family constantly fearing for his life and his quest to bring Gotham’s most dangerous crooks to justice.
Most quote-unquote “serious” actors who take on comic book movies usually do it to get a break from brooding character drama and have some fun in the Marvel or DC sandbox. Cate Blanchett relished the opportunity to play Hela as a classical mustache-twirling villain in the mold of Cruella de Vil or Maleficent in Thor: Ragnarok. Jake Gyllenhaal had a lot of fun playing illusionist Quentin Beck as a whiny diva in Spider-Man: Far From Home. But the material Oldman was given to work with in The Dark Knight movies was challenging stuff. In The Dark Knight, he plays a desperate father begging a corrupted friend to spare his young son’s life and take his own instead as he holds the boy at gunpoint.
The praise for Bale’s Batman and particularly for Ledger’s Joker is much-deserved, of course. Bale redefined Batman for modern audiences and Ledger made for not just the most memorable villain in comic book movie history, but one of the most memorable villains in movie history in general. It’s just a shame that Oldman’s performance didn’t receive the same level of appreciation. Ironically, the nuance of Oldman’s performance means it doesn’t draw attention to itself, which could be why it was overlooked.