My Thoughts On Bale’s Batman Voice In The Dark Knight

Recently a number of sites have mentioned a problem that many fans feel The Dark Knight has. That problem? Bale’s Batman voice. Some feel it is way over the top and perhaps even downright silly. I don’t agree with that assessment and here is why:

While I do agree that Bale’s Batman voice can be jarring in its deepness the truth is that the voice quality has a logical reason it. The deep, hoarse quality of the voice is for one important purpose, deception. In trying to conceal his identity it is only logical that Bruce Wayne would develop a different sounding voice for Batman.

Some critics of Bale’s Batman voice have attempted to pan it by saying it sounds too beast like. Well they’re right, it does sound animal like but that is not a bad thing. You see Batman is very much an animal. When he is wearing that suit fighting the forces of evil he takes on an animalistic focus. A deep voice fits the deep internal drive of the character.

It is worth noting that Bale’s Batman voice in Batman Begins, while also deep, was not nearly as raspy. Now I don’t know whether or not that was a creative choice by Bale or just the result of him not being able to slip back into the exact same voice. But regardless the change can be reasoned. The events that take place in The Dark Knight are a great deal more serious then those of Batman Begins. Just as the level of villains has escalated so to has Batman and by proxy his voice. Subconsciously his voice takes on a deeper tone because all the anxiety that both Bruce Wayne and Batman feel manifests itself in the voice of Batman.

In the end just like all the other aspects of Batman, the voice is always open to interpretation. Some actors choice to play Batman’s voice identical to Bruce Wayne’s while others choice to make a clear distinction. There is no definitive Batman voice because there is no “right” way to interpret it.