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RSS FeedWho is better as Rachel Daws in the Batman movies: Maggie Gyllenhaal or Katie Holmes?
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| Maggie | 49% | 50 votes | Total: 102 votes | |
| Katie | 51% | 52 votes |
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Add to FavoritesThe character of Rachel Dawes was the epitome of the "supporting female love interest" in the rejuvenated Christopher Nolan Batman movies. She wasn't really a secondary character, or a true supporting character. Those characters were played by men like Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman. Their characters were essential to the movies (and Batman/Bruce Wayne) and had motivations of their own. Rachel Dawes, on the other hand, was there to be a plot point or to get threatened and become the classic "damsel in distress" for Batman to rescue.
So ,determining who played the character "better" has certain limitations. It was a small role, without much substance so it's hard to judge whether a bad performance really made much of a difference, or whether a strong actor could have elevated the role beyond that of "hero's girlfriend."
Having said that, Maggie Gyllenhaal gets the nod in this case. Her Rachel was easier to swallow as a hardened, determined, tough-as-nails prosecutor. Ms. Gyllenhaal, for one, has the right look. She didn't look fresh out of college like Katie Holmes did in Batman Begins, and could actually pass as a veteran prosecutor. On the flip side, Ms. Gyllenhaal's unconventional attractiveness did raise the question about why her character was so desirous to the men around her. Because the role lacked substance, it wasn't easy to say that men gravitated towards her personality.
Ms. Gyllenhaal also had a good chemistry with her male leads, particularly Aaron Eckhart, who played Harvey Dent/Two-face. In Batman Begins, one of the glaring problems was Katie Holmes' lack of chemistry with Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne/Batman). At times it looked like she was a schoolgirl harboring a crush on an older man, since Ms. Holmes couldn't quite match the level of intensity and gravitas that Mr. Bale brought to his role. It was lopsided acting at its best (or worst?). There was no such problem with Ms. Gyllenhaal, who even in her very small role, could hold her own against heavyweights like Bale, Oldman and Eckhart. It felt like she belonged with them, as opposed to Ms. Holmes, who often looked like she had stumbled into the movie from an acting class.
In the end, Ms. Gyllenhaal did the best she could with what little the role offered her. She didn't quite elevate the role, but the role didn't have much going for it, and even the most gifted actors can only work with what they're given. Perhaps the best compliment for Ms. Gyllenhaal is this - she managed to blend seamlessly into the movie and do with the role what the role called for. Unlike Ms. Holmes, who often stood out because she seemed out of her depth in Batman Begins, Ms. Gyllenhaal managed to make her inconsequential role as memorbable as it should have been. Which is to say, not at all.
Learn more about this author, Katie Lee.
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Katie
A favorite saying of mine has recently become "if it isn't broken, don't fix it," and I believe this pertains to the switch of actresses for Rachel Daws. See, when Batman Begins was released, it became a hit, albeit not nearly as big as The Dark Knight has become. It was a movie that people were waiting for, a fresh start to the Batman saga, an actual origin and start to the Batman saga, but this one was thrust into a modern spotlight. So of course, none of the actors and actresses had been involved in Batman before, and they seemed to fit into their roles rather well. One of those actresses was Katie Holmes.
In Batman Begins, she is introduced as a long time friend and love interest of Bruce Wayne's. She is with him in the beginning, when he falls down the well and is swarmed by bats, and even goes with him to his parents' murderer's trial. She seems to have a soft spot for Bruce and slaps him when he reveals that he was thinking about shooting his parents' killer and taking revenge for himself. As Rachel, Holmes is young, attractive, and all in all a believable character - a citizen of Gotham who wants to see change. She isn't in a position of particular power because of the influence the mobsters and criminals have on Gotham, which only amplifies the enormity of her struggle and connects her to Bruce even further, giving them another common dream.
A protagonist's love interest always needs to be somewhat attractive in order to be taken somewhat seriously by the audience. Katie Holmes is rather attractive in Batman Begins, so it is obvious why Bruce loves her and wants to spend the rest of his life with her. She fits the bill perfectly for Rachel Daws by being beautiful and intelligent at the same time. However, this is much more than I can say about Maggie Gyllenhaal.
No offense to Maggie....who am I kidding, someone would be offended by this! As I was saying, Maggie looks much older than Katie and just isn't as attractive as her. At least in The Dark Knight, she gave the appearance of being old and worn rather than young and energetic, an opinion which was clearly shared and expressed by several others in my theater. I can't help it: it was just too drastic of a change from Katie Holmes to Maggie Gyllenhaal. The latter isn't even attractive, so I wouldn't blame Bruce Wayne for losing interest (although he didn't, of course).
Maggie's performance as Rachel wasn't particularly strong either. She was very serious, too serious to deal with Bruce, and became a much colder person then the bright and exuberant Rachel Daws from Batman Begins. She was dating Harvey Dent out of the blue, first of all, which completely destroyed her reputation in my eyes as at least pretending to like Bruce, and secondly she blew off the promise she made to Bruce in a small letter she wrote. But then again, she got blown up afterwards, so I can sympathize with that...although it was her connection to Dent that got her killed by the Joker, after all. I know, I can't blame the change in character motives on Maggie, but she did nothing to ease the painful performance out of its drudgery. She helped kill Rachel Daws as much as the Joker did.
Learn more about this author, David Aaron White.
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