Movie talk
What’s with the voice?
Though “The Dark Knight” has been a bona fide cultural event, boasting rave reviews and boffo box office, it hasn’t been immune to criticism. Some have quibbled with its political undercurrents, and others have criticized a muddled theme.
But here’s the critique most widely held: Why does Batman talk like the offspring of Clint Eastwood and a grizzly bear?
Donning the costume for the second time, Christian Bale has delved deeper into the lower registers. As Bruce Wayne, his voice is as smooth as his suits. Once he puts on the cape, the voice transformation is as dramatic as his costume change.
Critics and fans have noticed.
“His Batman rasps his lines in a voice that’s deeper and hammier than ever,” said NPR’s David Edelstein.
The New Yorker’s David Denby praised the urgency of Bale’s Batman, but lamented he “delivers his lines in a hoarse voice with an unvarying inflection.”
Alonso Duralde wrote for MSNBC that Bale’s Batman in “Batman Begins” “sounded absurdly deep, like a 10-year-old putting on an ‘adult’ voice to make prank phone calls. This time, Bale affects an eerie rasp, somewhat akin to Brenda Vaccaro doing a Miles Davis impression.”
Before the similes run too far afield, it’s worth considering where the concept of a throaty Batman comes from.
In his portrayal on the ’60s “Batman” TV series, Adam West didn’t alter his voice. Decades later, Michael Keaton’s inflection was notably, but not considerably, different.
But it was a lesser-known actor who made perhaps the most distinct imprint on Batman’s voice. Kevin Conroy, as the voice of the animated Batman from 1992 to this year, brought a darker, raspier vocalization to Batman.
Conroy has inhabited the role longer than anyone, and there are quarters where he’s viewed as the best Batman of them all.
—Associated Press
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