We tend to think of our lives in terms of 'good days' and 'bad days', don't we? It's just in our nature that when we lay down to go to sleep at the end of the day, we want to sum things up in a simplistic way, break our lives down into measurable units to which we can assign blanket labels like 'good' and 'bad'.
But how often are things really that simple? Today seemed like it was going to be an all-around good day. I woke up excited to read about the Oscar nominations, went down the street to finally check out The Orphanage, and was pleasantly surprised to discover that the theatre was empty. It was the perfect way to see this quietly unsettling little film, and I came home brimming with ideas for the column, ready to sit down and talk about Cloverfield's big opening, the sudden interest in faux-documentary, found-footage horror films, and riff a little bit on the Oscars.
Then I sat down at my computer, and the first thing I saw was the announcement that Heath Ledger had died, and a nice, simple, 'good' day has blurred into a solemn gray area, still fit for recognizing and celebrating the year's great films, but also cause for contemplation, reflection, and sadness.
I'm not going to lie. I had written Heath Ledger off after The Order, Lords of Dogtown, and The Brothers Grimm. He was fine in 10 Things I Hate About You and The Patriot, but I didn't see much more than, maybe, the next Matthew McConaughey. Then, after the aforementioned string of flops, I didn't even see that much work in his future.
Then came Brokeback Mountain, which, on its surface, seemed like exactly the kind of stunt actors use to try and revive their flagging careers (not unlike Patrick Swayze in To Wong Foo or Meg Ryan getting naked in In The Cut). And who knows, maybe that's exactly why Ledger took the role. In reality, it doesn't matter why he took it so much as what he did with it. He was nothing short of brilliant in the film.
Stephen Holden in the The New York Times writes of Ledger's performance: "So taciturn and bottled up that he swallows his syllables as he pulls words out of his mouth in gruff, reluctant grunts... Mr. Ledger magically and mysteriously disappears beneath the skin of his lean, sinewy character. It is a great screen performance, as good as the best of Marlon Brando and Sean Penn." Anthony Lane of The New Yorker, a critic not known for dispensing hyperbole in his reviews, says, "...the picture belongs to Ledger, whose downcast gaze and chewed-up words bear almost unbearable testimony to a heart under siege." Variety's Todd McCarthy says, "Ledger is powerfully impressive as a frightened, limited man ill-equipped to deal with what life throws at him. Mumbling, looking down, internalizing everything, Ledger's Ennis at times looks as though he's going to explode from his inchoate feelings."
It was a performance so good as to require a re-examination of his previous roles (Lords of Dogtown has benefited most from this), and got him cast as the Joker in the upcoming Batman sequel The Dark Knight. More academic critics like Lane are surely sharpening their critical barbs for the film, even in the wake of Ledger's death. But comic book fans (and anyone who read Jim Starlin's "Death in the Family" arc) know that The Joker is a villain that belongs alongside Darth Vader, Norman Bates, Nurse Ratched and Hannibal Lechter as the most complex pop culture has to offer.
Watch the trailer and tell me it doesn't look like Ledger knocked it out of the park. There's no trace of Jack Nicholson's manic (if entertaining) mugging in Burton's Batman. In his place is a tragically deranged genius who sees some of himself behind Batman's mask, and he's right. If director Chris Nolan, who wrote the script with his brother Jonathan, has done the character justice (and Batman Begins is cause for hope), I anticipate this film will serve as a reminder of the talent that was lost today.
I'm mixed about Ledger's pre-Brokeback performances, but I feel quite strongly that his work as Ennis Del Mar is a gift to film lovers, something that will recall the same deep wells of emotion in twenty years or fifty or a hundred, and for that I say with the utmost sincerity and gratitude, rest in peace, Heath Ledger.
Comments (5)
Sutter, thank you for writing that.
The news of Heath's death makes me incredibly sad and reading your homage to him, helped in some small way.
I can't help but feel enormous sympathy for his family, his daughter and those whose lives he's touched.
1 of 5 | Posted by TinkerbellAPixie | Posted on January 22, 2008 7:00 PM
Man I am so sad right now. Why does this keep happening? Ruined my entire day but when I think of his loved ones, my bad day is hardly significant.
R.I.P.
2 of 5 | Posted by CheriesTake | Posted on January 22, 2008 8:37 PM
Okay, a few words on the trailer. Simply brilliant! Maggie G looks like a MAJOR improvement on Mrs. Tom Cruise.
Love Heath's maniacal laugh. It invokes Nicholson's fantastic performance while also making the role his own.
I actually would not be surprised if this time next year Heath would have gained a posthumous Oscar nom. You heard it here first!!
Also, late last year I was lucky enough to get an early look at the opening 8 mins or so of Dark Knight -- the stuff shot AND projected on Imax -- of the heist that begins the movie. Very tense, violent and exciting opening to the movie that just made me anxious for its release. But make sure you see it in an Imax theatre.
Heath was always a brilliant actor. I avoided all his the dodgy films (Knight's Tale etc) but I'm sure I would have enjoyed his performance even in a crappy movie.
If you haven't seen Two Hands, then do - that's when I first sat up and took notice of that new young guy named Heath.
As I posted yesterday on this site, I was actually on the phone to my sister in Australia (where I am from) when the news broke across her TV screen. I cannot describe how shocked we were.
It is so unbelieveably sad and such a tragic loss to the world. I mean, I never met him or anything, but I just adored every time he lit up the screen.
The saddest thing for me is knowing that his tiny little girl will never get to know her gentle, troubled, vivid and incredibly talented father.
Poor Michelle and poor little Matilda Rose. My sympathies are with his family and everyone he was close to.
*sigh*
3 of 5 | Posted by Donna Martin Graduates! | Posted on January 24, 2008 1:57 PM
This is a sad event, and it's strange how much it's affected me.
I disagree with seeing his other roles as bad roles. He was an actor that elevated the movies he was in. He will be missed.
4 of 5 | Posted by neillfilm | Posted on January 24, 2008 3:25 PM
I quote comic mitch hedburghg as in "Man, you gotta put a pause in there if you want me to guess..."
For those that might attack me for misquoting...I saw him live..and that's a direct quote.
Any death saddens me, especially when there are ones left behind...those too young to answer the questions.
So stop with the why's...acknowledge his family's strength and honor his character...great actor and he leaves behind a legacy...
my english bulldogy loves treats and thus, i love dots...
...
5 of 5 | Posted by onlyangelic | Posted on January 25, 2008 12:33 PM