Small wonder Christie Hodgen dedicates her jewel of a novel Elegies for the Brokenhearted (W.W. Norton) “for Michael, who works in pessimism.” Her characters live on a blasted heath where love is illusory, family a horror show, and crushing failure the norm...

Poor Christian Bale never has a chance. As Batman (or “the Batman” as he’s often called in a nod to the earliest comic strips), he is left to brood heavily under his kinky black leather mask. The screen belongs to Ledger’s Joker, even if the streets of Gotham are up for grabs.

The Cactus Club, 10 p.m.