Marion Cotillard Takes the Blame for Her Silly ‘Dark Knight Rises’ Death

Realism in superhero fiction is always hit or miss. You’re dealing with something that is inherently unreal. People can say they’ve found a way to show how a human being can fly “realistically,” but who cares?! Nothing is realistic about a human being flying with some gravity-defying powers or shooting laserbeams out of their eyes that melt steel. For better and for worse, a certain film trilogy brought realism to comic book movies that have stayed engrained in most of them. While being realistic doesn’t necessarily work for The Flash or Thor, it worked wonders for Batman.

The Dark Knight is easy to imagine as a realistic hero because he’s a human being with gadgets and money. The least realistic thing about him is that he’s a billionaire who chooses to help people. Christopher Nolan made three films about the Caped Crusader that were steeped in a real, tangible world with real, tangible people. That realism held firm, even in the face of larger-than-life performances and painful “jokes.” Still, there is a moment in the third film that is oft-maligned because it feels unreal and silly as hell.

I enjoy The Dark Knight Rises, the third film in Nolan’s trilogy. It isn’t perfect, but it hits many beats that I enjoy and gives Bruce Wayne an actual happy ending, something the character often doesn’t get (if he’s still Batman, he’s not happy). The movie suffers when it starts trying to fold in mythology, both from its future (ugh, the Robin moment) and its past. But, it’s a fun ride that stretches the realism to its breaking point, especially when it comes to a specific character’s death.

Marion Cotillard is revealed to be a villain in the film’s third act. She is the daughter of Batman Begins baddie Ra’s Al Ghul. While her performance is mostly on the level, her death scene feels like something out of a dinner theater performance. She’s forcing out strained words with her last breaths and then suddenly dies. I went into writing this piece ready to say she didn’t need to take the blame (more on that in a sec), rewatched it, and… it’s pretty bad.

As Cotillard has said previously, it seems funny that Nolan and crew chose this take out of, presumably, many. Still, the idea that the used take exists at all is insane! Film shoots take a long time and you’re often doing the same shot again and again (and again and again and again), but this is a silly performance moment in a series of films that is quite grounded. Now, Cotillard is taking the blame.

“I didn’t nail that scene,” Cotillard explained to Les rencontres du Papotin. “I didn’t find the right position. I didn’t find the right way… I was stressed. Sometimes it happens that you screw something up. So that, I screwed up.” Fair enough, Marion! I don’t think she deserves the blame, and she’s probably sick of answering questions about that thirteen-year-old movie. Still, she gave us a pretty wild take (and it’s not her first time).