Respect

I was going to write this post in my film blog…but then I realized I had more to say than what my film blog is about…which is simply my subjective view of films Ive seen…and not so much beyond that. This film requires a bit more.

Last weekend I watched ‘The Dark Knight’ and I cannot remember having been more frightened by an actor. The scariest actor to me has always been Christopher Walken. I don’t know why, but the guy scares the crap out of me. The way he plays bad guys makes the little hairs at the back of my neck rise in fear…But after having seen Heath Ledger as the joker…Chris has an equal match.

Ive been looking forward to ‘The Dark Knight’ for about a year now…I absolutely loved ‘Batman begins’ and the thought of a sequel in the same dark, gothic style had me shaking with anticipation. Don’t get me wrong, I dig ‘Batman (1989)’ and even ‘Batman returns (1992)’ but they are completely different films. Theatrical and colorful characters, insane but somehow less intimidating than they easily could be. ‘Batman begins’ was way darker, moodier and more serious. It also tried to explain why there are so many wild characters in Gotham, -an explanation I had been looking for. So as soon as ‘The Dark Knight’ premiered, I made sure to get tickets.

I have to admit I was skeptic to all the hype around Heath Ledger. Not because I have any doubts about Ledger as an actor. He was a terrific actor. I first noticed him in ‘A Knight’s Tale (2001)’ and I have followed him since. My skepticism was more based on the attention that naturally follows a type of tragedy that was the case with Ledger. History is full of amazing people being praised after they’re no longer with us. People who had the skills and talent to be recognized while still alive, but due to competition and over-exposure to other talents, somewhat drowned in the masses. In situations like this, it is not until the person is no longer here, that they get acknowledged and sometimes even over-praised. I believe that most people are good, and when a good person goes away, you wish to say something nice about that person. So to clarify, I did not doubt the skills of Heath Ledger in ‘The Dark knight’, I simply had doubts that he was as amazing and world-altering as the reviews said he was.

There was however no reason for doubt.

I found myself being almost bored with Christian Bale and the other characters of the film (I say “almost bored” as I wasn’t bored at all…but you know…trying to make a point here). …not because they didn’t do a good job, they did, but because Heath Ledger was in a league of his own far above the others. And I say this as a person who loves, loves, loves both Sir Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman. I have never seen a more shocking performance by an actor before. Heath who has played a knight (A Knight’s Tale, 2001), a fighter of mythical beings (The Brothers Grimm, 2005), a ladies’ man (Casanova, 2005) and a men’s man (Brokeback Mountain, 2005) outdid himself as the Joker. A character so completely different from anything else he has done and he shines stronger than ever.

I left the theater all excited and worked up, yet deeply, truly sad. Excited because Heath Ledger has never been better. Sad because he will never have a chance to be that great again. This guy truly died at the top of his game and it is with sad realization I accept the fact that we will not have the fortune of following his growth as an actor. Imagine how great he would have become with even more experience…

I look forward to watching his very last performance in Terry Gilliams (one of my favorite directors); ‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’ but somehow I feel ‘The Dark Knight’ and Heath’s version of The Joker will be the most memorable performance of his career.

And what a performance it is…