Daily Dialogue — May 11, 2016
BRUCE: Mind if I cut in? Oh, you don’t seem happy to see me.
SELINA: You were supposed to be a shut-in.
BRUCE: I felt like some fresh air.
SELINA: Why didn’t you call the police?
BRUCE: I have a powerful friend who deals with things like this. Brazen costume for a cat burgler.
SELINA: Yeah? Who are you pretending to be?
BRUCE: Bruce Wayne, eccentric millionaire. Who’s your date?
SELINA: His wife’s in Ibiza. She left her diamonds behind, though.
BRUCE: Hmm.
SELINA: Worried they might get stolen.
BRUCE: It’s pronounced, ‘Ibeetha. You wouldn’t want any of these folks realizing you’re a crook, not a social climber.
SELINA: You think I care what anyone in this room thinks of me?
BRUCE: I doubt you care what anyone in any room thinks of you.
SELINA: Don’t condescend, Mr. Wayne, you don’t know a thing about me.
BRUCE: Well, Selina Kyle, I know you came here from your walk-up in Old Town — modest place for a master jewel thief. Which means that either you’re saving for retirement or you’re in deep with the wrong people.
SELINA: You don’t get to judge me just because you were born in the master bedroom of Wayne Manor–
BRUCE: Actually, I was born in the Regency Room
SELINA: I started out doing what I had to. Once you’ve done what you had to they’ll never let you do what you want to.
BRUCE: Start fresh.
SELINA: There’s no fresh start in today’s world. Any 12-year-old with a cell phone could find out what you did. Everything we do is collated and quantified. Everything sticks.
BRUCE: Is that how you justify stealing?
SELINA: I take what I need from those who have more than enough. I don’t stand on the shoulders of people with less.
BRUCE: Robin Hood?
SELINA: I think I do more to help someone than most of the people in this room — than you.
BRUCE: You think maybe you’re assuming a little too much?
SELINA: Maybe you’re being unrealistic about what’s really in your pants other than your wallet.
BRUCE: Ouch.
SELINA: You think all this can last? There’s a storm coming, Mr. Wayne. You and your friends better batten down the hatches, ’cause when it hits, you’re all gonna wonder how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us.
BRUCE: You sound like you’re looking forward to it.
SELINA: I’m adapbable.
BRUCE: Those pearls do look better on you than they did in my safe, but I still can’t let you keep ’em.
— The Dark Knight Rises (2012), screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer, based on the characters created by Bob Kane
The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Femme Fatale. Today’s suggestion by Will King.
Trivia: Christopher Nolan said that this film’s theme deals with “Pain”. For Batman Begins (2005), it was on “Fear”, while The Dark Knight (2008) deals on “Chaos”.
Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary by Will: “This scene sets up the complex and ongoing relationship between Bruce and Selina (Batman and Catwoman). They continue to verbally spar throughout the story, with Batman trying to tug Catwoman away from a life of crime, while Catwoman believes her fate is set.”