6. Why Is Chase Meridian Even Here?
From here, Im going to look at some character-specific problems. And Chase Meridian has a huge one. Namely that she isnt really much of a character. Shes supposed to be a professional psychiatrist, but she spends most of the film acting like a teenage groupie. The only thing she seems to care about is getting Batman into bed, throwing herself at him relentlessly. Until she meets Bruce Wayne, at which point her life becomes all about him. Nicole Kidman is a great actress, but this role is just badly written from start to finish. This whole love story is just completely unnecessary and it serves as a poor subplot. You could cut every single scene with Chase out of this movie and no one would bat an eye. Thats how completely ineffectual she is to the plot. But if you wanted to completely rewrite her character, that would be acceptable. Chase Meridian should be someone who is a lot less interested in whats under the black rubber and more interested in the effect Batman has on Gotham City as a whole. He basically created the Joker and since he appeared in Gotham, the city has had to contend with a steady stream of freaks. Thats what her role should be, examining the impact Batman has on the world, and figuring out for herself through her sessions with Bruce that hes Batman.