Christian Bale is presently in the Denver area, visiting and mourning with the victims of the senseless tragedy that took place last Friday morning at the midnight screenings of The Dark Knight Rises.
I knew it wouldn’t take him long to get there. No doubt, he had more than a few obligations within the realm of talk shows, junkets, appearances, premiers…the list goes on…but Christian Bale is an interesting one. Driven by a passion that had marked him as an a**hole for a meltdown on the set of Terminator: Salvation, and a humility that allowed for a quick pivot of public opinion when he called into a morning radio show to eat crow, apologize and explain why he went off–content to place himself in the wrong. Such characteristics are rare…not in this day and age…throughout history.
He’s that guy. A Brit who has been in the business since he was a child, leading the story line of film’s that have been offered from some of the world’s contemporary masters. If you’ve never seen Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun, it is highly recommended–some of Spielberg’s finest and most underrated work. Christian Bale, all of 12 years old, takes you on a journey that would easily lead you to believe that he could someday offer a textured humanity to Batman.
And now he’s lending some private time and support to private citizens who went to a theater to support him, and what he does. Call me a sap, but it’s very heartwarming. It doesn’t sand away the rough edges, confusion and tremendous sadness that will forever be associated with the scene in Aurora, but it is a statement that regardless of celebrity, we are all very similar.
