Claire Denis is applauding her collaborator Robert Pattinson‘s dedicated performance as the Caped Crusader in “The Batman.”
During a discussion with Screen Slate to celebrate the restoration of her 1992 film “Fear, No Die,” Denis was jokingly asked whether she would direct a “Batman” franchise film. Denis instead took the opportunity to praise her “High Life” actor Pattinson for embodying the role in an “intimate and delicate” manner for Matt Reeves’ 2022 film “The Batman.” Pattinson will re-don the mask for the slated 2026 sequel.
“I watched ‘The Batman’ because Robert Pattinson is a friend,” Denis said. “Of course, it’s a lot, a lot, a lot of post-production. A crew of 300. But the work inside, the way Robert thinks about Batman — I like the way he constructed his Batman. It’s the rest of it — the effects, the crowds, the post-production, it’s like two films in one. There’s the Batman story, which is very intimate and delicate, and then the rest.”
She added, “I would do a Batman if I could do it without the rest.”
Denis previously revealed that she was going to direct Pattinson in a play “before he was our Batman.” The duo also planned to re-team on “The Stars at Noon,” but Joe Alwyn was cast in the Pattinson role due to “The Batman” reshoots during COVID.
To Screen Slate, Denis spoke about the shifting purpose of Hollywood. As a French filmmaker, the auteur admitted that she does not “reject Hollywood” itself, but rather hopes to emphasize indie rising directors.
“When I go to festivals I meet young people carrying something in them, and they want to deliver. Not all of them are interested in becoming Christopher Nolan,” Denis said.
Of course, Nolan helmed a “Batman” trilogy and most recently won Best Picture with “Oppenheimer.”
“Hollywood was a school, though. Hollywood is full of little secrets and details,” Denis said of establishing her career outside of the U.S. “I remember so many Hollywood movies. We learned so much from Hollywood. For me it’s very precious. We learn, of course, from Japan, from Europe, too. But my point is I don’t reject Hollywood. I think some of the most rebellious film directors were working within Hollywood — and these were my heroes.”
As for how she decides her projects — “Batman” or not — Denis explained that she does not try to anticipate what Hollywood might want.
“What makes a film pure?” she asked. “We believed in making the film. It’s not about, ‘Are we professionals or amateurs? Are we Hollywood or not? Do we need this or do we need that?’ We need to be touched.”
