The last person I thought that would ever chime in on Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” is Claire Denis, but it makes sense — she’s collaborated and remained close friends with star Robert Pattinson.
Here’s Denis, speaking to Screen Slate, in relation to the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s run of her long-unavailable 1990 film, “No Fear, No Die.” I haven’t seen the film but would love to. For some reason, “The Batman” enters the conversation:
I watched “The Batman” because Robert Pattinson is a friend. 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. I would do a Batman [movie] if I could do it without the rest.
I wouldn’t call this praise, just polite approval. I sure as hell would love to see a Batman movie directed by Denis, but despite her interest, I doubt that would ever happen.
Denis is, arguably, France's most globally acclaimed active female filmmaker and she still only has this one César nomination to her name. That means no Directing nods for “35 Shots of Rum,” “Beau Travail,” “The Intruder,” and “White Material.” Go figure.
In the meantime, Denis is currently working on her next film, titled “The Fence,” but I’m not sure exactly when it’s supposed to start shooting. Although 78 years of age, it’s quite clear she won’t be retiring anytime soon — “I think the best way to retire is to die.”