I always feel the need to brace myself when doing something as ambitious as going to the midnight showing of a film. As a teenager, I used to think the crowd that attended these things were fairly certifiable, but I came to realize that there's something noble about it. Downing as many energy drinks as possible, waiting in an irresponsibly long line, and braving the insane amounts of people dressed as their favorite characters from (insert dorky franchise here). My first experience with the midnight showing came just two-and-a-half years ago. It was for Peter Jackson's highly-anticipated remake of the Merian C. Cooper classic, King Kong. This was a major leap for a first-time midnight viewer. Usually, one would want to start out on a film along the lines of ninety to a hundred minutes long. Nope. Not me! I was like the kid who just started drinking and wanted his first beer to be a Guinness. My first midnight showing was a three-and-a-half hour experience. I wasn't disappointed. And since then, I've gone to see Spiderman 3, Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and most recently, The Dark Knight. All at midnight. The latter was not only the best out of the midnight-showing films I've seen, but it's the best superhero film I've seen, by far. Director Christopher Nolan has taken this franchise and made it into film noir. The Dark Knight feels as if there's a haunting presence lurking behind the equipment used to make it. I felt that Philip Marlowe could put on a bat suit and feel right at home in Nolan's Gotham City.
I'm not going to review the film as a whole, though. I'm scared that I might reveal plot points that don't need revealing. Most of you guys know the story, anyway. No, in this blog today, I'm going to discuss one thing and one thing only: Heath Ledger's performance. I understand that every critic and every blogger within a square mile of each other are discussing the very same thing. I'm just going to try and add my own insight to it.
It was common knowledge before the film was released, whether Ledger passed away or not, that his Joker would be the most discussed aspect of the film. Yes, his untimely death has brought more attention to the film and his character, but it cannot be said enough: this is one of the most brilliant character creations film has seen in a very long time. Ledger has done some fine work up to this point, but NOTHING he's done in the past will prepare you for what he does in this film. I've never seen anything quite like it.
I can't explain it, but there's something in a filmgoer that is fascinated by villainous acts done by a truly deranged character. We don't want a villain to succeed, but we do have a morbid curiosity as to how they go about doing what they do. The well-performed, well-conceived villains, at least, challenge us. We yearn for their presence on the screen, because those heroes just seem a little too boring for the moment. It's easy to name off some of the great screen heroes of our time, but it's a lot more fun to think of the bad guys. Hannibal Lecter, Anton Chigurh, Daniel Plainview, Alonzo Harris, Norman Bates, and Darth Vader are such effective villains that they make us desire for the heroes to get a little torn and frayed. My desire, though, is to not break down the psyche of said villains, but to talk about a performance that, in the end, saddens me deeply.
Ledger jumped into this roll with the kind of vim and vigor that makes one giggle in delight with the things he does. Nolan and his brother Jonathan co-wrote the screenplay and they did a great job at giving us speeches. Philosophical speeches where the Joker reflects upon his own psyche. There's a terrific scene in the movie where The Joker explains to Harvey Dent the difference between himself and the people who set out plans of action. The Joker is impulsive with no desire to face or even care about any type of consequence. Ledger delivers these speeches in such a way that it's difficult to read whether he's serious or fooling you. He puts on one of the better poker faces that film has ever seen and it's not because of the make-up. Mannerisms are key to this performance and Ledger makes that the Joker's modus operandi. The way his tongue slivers between the corners of his mouth like a reptile or the low, neutral drawl in which he speaks, it is almost completely impossible to get a read on what he's thinking. He's smart, shifty and has a spirit (evil notwithstanding) that's very hard to break.
I loved the way Ledger uses his hands in this film. He points at his enemies in a way that dictates entire conversations. I found that in The Joker's quieter moments he was a lot more frightening than he was in the bigger ones. In a scene towards the beginning of the film, The Joker walks in on an underground mob meeting. He offers up his advice about how to handle the predicament they are in and one of the gangsters calls him crazy. Ledger takes pronunciation to a whole new level when he responds, "I'm not crazy". He doesn't simply say it that way, though. He places extra emphasis on the "t" in the word "not". Then, he pauses for a beat and finishes his statement. That simple enunciation on the "t" makes him more frightening than in any other scene in the film.
There are sheer moments of comedy that Ledger provides the character, as well. It's not because they're obvious comedic moments, either. I felt a little ashamed of myself for laughing at some of the things the character did. Others were laughing just as hard as I was, though, so I felt that it was okay. Once again, this is something that was completely laid in the hands of the actor and he knocked it out of the ballpark. I cannot stress that enough.
I've told many people this and I know they're tired of hearing me say it, but when Mr. Ledger was announced to play The Joker, there was not a doubt in my mind that he was the perfect choice for the part. He far exceeded my expectations. You can think about some of the characters he's played up until this film. In the beginning, he was essentially playing different versions of himself. The first real sign of a serious actor that we got from him was his performance in Monster's Ball. Then, of course, came his Ennis Del Mar character in Brokeback Mountain. This solidified his standing as the actor we witnessed up until his death in January. Even in Brokeback, though, you could still sense Heath Ledger, the actor. I saw no traces of Ledger in The Dark Knight. None whatsoever. I saw a total immersion by a man who was hitting his peak. His death puts him in the same company as James Dean and River Phoenix. Young, promising actors whose lives were cut short. Ledger, though, was going to be good as Brando. His body of work would have only gotten better. It would have challenged his audience even more and that's why I almost cried while watching this diabolical and mesmerizing performance. I don't get to discover the reaches to which he would've taken future characters. Heath Ledger's final performance will stand, in my eyes, as the most exciting and dynamic villainous turn in the history of cinema. Please go see for yourself, though.
