Remembering Heath Ledger

I was very happy when Heath Ledger won the Oscar for The Dark Knight. Yeah, it was a shoe-in since the film’s premiere, but it was still a great to hear his name announced. His untimely death made the already-high expectations of his Joker difficult to live up to…and he exceeded them. The quirky mannerisms, the voice, the petrifying stare: he created one of the great villains in movie history (bettering Hollywood icon Jack Nicholson in the process) and was properly recognized for his achievement.

But The Dark Knight will not be his Rebel Without a Cause, the film that defined James Dean and engrained his effeminate male “cool” into America’s psyche. That distinction goes to his portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain.

I have to admit, I really had no interest in seeing Brokeback when it first came out. The trailer made it look campy: a rocky love triangle involving Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Michelle Williams that involved slaps to the face and melodramatic lines with the inspirational theme from Shawshank in the background. It seemed like kitsch.

I was dragged to see it in theatres; afterwards, I decided Heath Ledger was my favorite actor of my generation.

It’s an injustice to simplify the movie as a gay love story. It’s really not a love story, as it’s about a man who lacks the ability to love. The story shows how this inflicts collateral damage upon his daughters, his ex-wife, and the love of his life, Jack.

But he is also pained, even though the story provides little dialogue or action to substantiate such. It’s all Heath Ledger. He rarely smiles. When he talks, he barely opens his mouth. When he parts from Jack, though Jack looks in his rear-view mirror and cries, Ledger only slumps his shoulders and walks away. He doesn’t even engage people with his eyes. He’s an enigma, and not even Jack can open him up.

The performance personifies Heath Ledger, the actor. William Goldman wrote that the problem with modern Hollywood is that there is no mystery behind our movie stars. Ledger was never a YouTube sensation, was never involved in a stupid arrest, was never one to grace the cover of US Weekly. He was a handsome movie star who remained shy and quiet. He was Hollywood’s next pretty-boy in Ten Things I Hate About You and A Knight’s Tale, who turned down the big paychecks for movies he wanted to do.

It gave me hope when he landed the role of the Joker. It was the most coveted role in Hollywood, sought after by ever young male in the game. But it went to the guy who would not conform; the guy who became a star by following his heart.

He won the Oscar for playing a destructive psychopath. I wish he had won for Brokeback as well. It would have been fitting for Ledger and would have been another example of his affect on Hollywood: a soft-soft spoken role wins over a charismatic character with an accent.

Dark Knight - Aftermath

I recently read an imdb.com article that claimed that The Dark Knight “has become one of the most mistake-ridden films of the year so far” with movie-goers catching 16 mistakes in it. Granted, some of these film flubs are minor, such as hair being out of place from one shot to the next. Some, such as an extra S.W.A.T. truck appearing during a chase scene, are more major. All that said, the cold showers I took after seeing the movie are kicking in. I still love the movie, but I’m starting to view it in another light.

Essentially, after all is said and done, I still prefer TDK over Batman Begins. However, that is for one major reason – The Joker. Had The Joker not been so devilishly fun to watch, had Heath Ledger not been so completely immersed in the character, I am not sure I would have enjoyed the film as much as the one that preceded it. The biggest difference to me between the films is that, in Begins, I felt as though Christopher Nolan was really targeting a few key themes, which were explored in depth. In Dark Knight, there was so much going on that a lot of potentially interesting themes were lost or superficially explored at best. For example, when Bruce Wayne says that he’s “seen the man [he] would have to become” to defeat the Joker, I recall thinking that I’d not seen it. Had that line been absent, I’m not sure I would have come away with a feeling of Batman’s internal struggle. Sure, he was torn by what ramifications Batman’s existence has had on Gotham (criminals, copy cat vigilantes), but the darkness he felt growing inside him eluded me.

Another point that snagged me *SPOILER ALERT* was the Gordon “death”. There’s really little way that Gordon, the police, Batman, or The Joker could have planned that incident. More so than anything in Begins, this beat seemed something thrown in purely for the audience, something that did not further the plot in any particular (or plausible) way. *END SPOLIER*

What I’m getting at – and it’s odd, because Onyx, who can barley name a bat-gadget to save his life – was defending the film against me – the Dark Knight of Queens, NY – is that, overall, I think the movie had more poorly explained plot gimmicks and superficial thematic explorations than Batman Begins did. However, Joker reigned supreme in The Dark Knight, and, due in no small part to Heath Ledger’s performance, the movie was much more exhilarating and entertaining than Begins. Of course, I’ll still see it again in theatres and buy it as soon as it comes out (not to mention the poster and t-shirt I’ll probably pick out online this weekend). I’m just being a knit-picky fan (and former film student).

But *FINAL SPOLIER* how the hell was Eric Roberts standing in the hospital scene, when his character was dropped four stories just nights before?

Why So Serious?

I saw The Dark Knight on Friday. I'd have posted my review earlier, but I had to spend the past two days taking a cold shower to calm myself down. The movie competes - along with air, water, Mom's cooking, and love - for the title of "best anything ever."

Ok, before I go on, I should say that I'm perhaps a little bit biased. I probably have one of the largest Batman trade and graphic novel collections in New York City. (That's not a challenge, internet dwellers, simply background.) So, it's fair to say that I'll watch just about anything Batman (and I have). I thought Batman Begins was great. When I emerged from the theater after seeing that 3 years ago, I didn't know how a Batman movie could be better. Now I do.

Like so many other people, I went into the screening having heard that the film was incredible, that Heath Ledger was a great, a definitive Joker, and that the movie was one of the best of the year, if not the best. About half an hour in, I reminded myself of all these things, and thought, "I'm liking it, but I don't know if I'd say any of those things yet." Almost immediately after, the movie really hit its stride, and I was mesmerized. The film was incredible; it was thoroughly entertaining and much darker than I had imagined. Heath Ledger was the Joker; I wasn't watching him play the Joker, I was just watching Joker. And, there is no way, in my opinion that DC Comics can publish any other Joker from here on out. Joker will never again be able to poison Gotham's fish. He's no longer that character. He will forever be the Joker from The Dark Knight.

I cannot articulate concisely enough my appreciation for this movie. I loved it 100%. Aside from an annoying SWAT team member who must have been owed a favor and thus was given lines, I had very few problems at all with the film. It not only lived up to its hype, but it surpassed it. My only real issue with it is that, now, I don't know how I can watch Batman Begins again. It made that movie look like child's play. It wass so much darker, so much more chaotic, and Joker is by far the most riveting character to watch in the franchise.

Now off to see it again!