Heath Ledger - the Joker
Heath Ledger's final screen turn is as a complex fiend battling both the Dark Knight and his demons
By Ruth Hessey
Already being acclaimed as "the best superhero film ever made", "one
of the best crime dramas in modern movie history", and "the best and
scariest comic-book adaptation ever", The Dark Knight is also the last
will and testament of The Joker, as played by Australian actor Heath
Ledger, who died on January 22 this year.
Director
Christopher Nolan, they say, has created a film that is completely
original, raw, messed up and challenging with his latest excursion into
Bat-Noir. Christian Bale's performance as Bruce Wayne has attracted
acclaim, but "Oscar nomination" is what's being bandied about to accord
full tribute to Ledger's effort.
"I can only speak superlatives of Ledger, who is mad-crazy-blazing brilliant as the Joker," says Rolling Stone's Peter Travers.
"Ledger
takes the role to the shadows, where even what's comic is hardly a
relief," says The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt.
Ledger's
Joker "is much more obtuse and fiendish and truly in love with his
chaotic impulses than Jack Nicholson's famous, distracting take," Nick
Nunziata observes in Chud.com. "He truly makes you believe that for him
the thrill of the game isn't the outcome but the ride there."
Ledger's
Joker "has no gray - he's all rampaging id," concludes Travers. "The
Joker's sadism is limitless, and the masochistic delight he takes in
being punched and bloodied to a pulp would shame the Marquis de Sade."