Christian Bale Sheds Light on Final Scene in Dark Knight Rises
We didn’t think that the end scene of Dark Knight Rises was all that mysterious or theory provoking did you? I mean the dude is just sitting there in a cafe in Italy when Alfred spots him. Then again, remember that this is a Christopher Nolan flick so fans weren’t so quick to just say “he’s still alive!” Many people actually thought this scene was merely a dream concocted by Alfred.
The script made a big to-do about Lucius Fox saying the Batwing’s autopilot was broken, leaving us to momentarily believe Bruce Wayne was in the Batwing when it exploded. But let’s put this to bed shall we?
Entertainment Weekly asked Bale about this scene, and he didn’t hesitate to help out those confused by what was probably the least confusing thing about The Dark Knight Rises.
“[Alfred] was content with me being alive and left because that was the life he always wanted for him. I find it very interesting and with most films, I tend to say ‘It’s what the audience thinks it is.’ My personal opinion? No, it was not a dream. That was for real and he was just delighted that finally he had freed himself from the privilege, but ultimately the burden, of being Bruce Wayne.” [transcribed by /film]
Do you agree?
Does that mean he still has the burden of being Batman?
Giving up being Batman doesn’t even make sense…That’s his entire purpose in life. Bruce Wayne is a front for Batman, when he thinks to himself, he refers to himself as Batman.
Either way, it was embarrassingly cliche.
I think the scene would have been so much better if they just didn’t show Bruce. Have Alfred sit and get his drink, look around, see the table in question (maybe we still see a couple sitting there, just no faces), then have Alfred do his little smile of acknowledgement. End scene.