The Batman story has been told over and over again, so this fall's Gotham decided to remove the Caped Crusader from his town's tale completely. The show focuses instead on the city that created Batman as seen through the eyes of young cop on the beat James Gordon (Ben McKenzie of Southland and The O.C.). Executive producer John Stephens calls the show a "crime opera," more serialized Mafia drama than superhero tale.
"I would say 75 percent of the episodes will have a procedural story," said Stephens. "But that will always be balanced out by the serialized crime drama that we'll be telling." He cited Frank Miller's Batman: Year One, Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's The Long Halloween and Dark Victory, and Ed Brubaker's Gotham Centralas points of reference for the show. "It's a world that feels real, but heightened."
The pilot (screened for critics last Thursday) has a lot of the elements of a traditional "taking down the Mafia" story: Gung-ho newbie Gordon learns how to navigate the muddy waters of corruption with the help of his veteran partner Harvey Bullock, played with grizzled and biting wit by Donal Logue (Grounded for Life,Terriers, Sons of Anarchy). Logue's Bullock walks the line between crime and the law with a welcome grace, setting the show's voice.
The arrogant swagger of Gotham's Major Crimes unit (Victoria Cartagena and Andrew Stewart-Jones) contrasts nicely with the tough but fair approach of Captain Essen (Zabryna Guevara). On the other side of the blue line, Jada Pinkett-Smith as a mafia boss casts a violent counterpoint to her rival, the ominious yet dignified head of the Falcone mob family played by Wire alum John Doman.
The pilot's real MVP, however, is Robin Taylor as a pre-Penguin Oswald Cobblepot. It's a slightly unhinged portrayal that resonates with the story's comic book origins without betraying the show's realism.
"He's a strange actor, God bless him, Robin. He's a genius," said director and executive producer Danny Cannon. "He turns something slightly odd into something very real." The producers saw a lot of people for that role, "but Robin's take was fascinating to us. We wanted to learn more. We had a take on it, but he brought a take to it that we found ourselves drawn to."
The city itself, as the name implies, is the show's real star. It's a timeless Gotham, with elements of the late '70s, early '80s New York of Mean Streets as well as the neon grittiness of Blade Runner. The show's creator, Bruno Heller (Rome, The Mentalist) said, "It's a mashup of different time periods; it's everybody's memory of 20 years ago. Even if you're 25 years old, you should get a sense that it's not ancient history, it's not tomorrow, it's not today. It's a dream world."
One of the perceived weak points of the show is the young teen element. Many longtime comic fans fear some version of a high school romance between Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz of Touch) and Selina Kyle (newcomer Carmen Bicondova).
As Gotham's first episode goes, those fears are unfounded. By the end of the hour, we see Bruce Wayne already forming the inner resolve that will become his legacy.
The power young Mazouz wields in those last moments is astonishing, more than holding his own against the grown-up actors. "What he has is intense focus and internal strength," said Heller. "To find someone that young who has all the instincts and the intensity of a real intense actor is such a gift, because it means you can tell real stories, which, frankly, you can't often do."
"I did a lot of research: comic books, Internet, TV shows, movies," said Mazouz about his preparation for the role. "I did everything I could. I have all the Bob Kane-Bill Finger originals that are out of print."
But it's Christian Bale that Mazouz cites as his primary influence. "In that trilogy, you just saw his need to seek justice. And, I think, that's the approach that Bruce Wayne in Gotham — my character — is going to go.
"It's going to be really cool to see exactly where he gets his motive from." The 13-year-old actor echoes a sentiment shared by Heller and Cannon — that Batman isn't a hero because he has powers, he's a hero despite not having them. "He brings it upon himself to be this," said Mazouz, "And where does he get that from? You get to see that throughout the show."
Gotham airs this fall on Monday nights at 8 p.m. on Fox.
Posts
