Is Heath Ledger’s reputation as a serious actor at stake? ‘Why so serious indeed?’ to quote the Dark Knight tagline.
I don’t believe Ledger’s portrayal of The Joker’s will be remembered as his defining performance, at least I hope not. Despite the hype and the timing, the psychotic cartoon character shouldn’t take anything away from his crushing performance in Brokeback Mountain, for which he won his first Oscar nomination.
If he does win a second nomination, he will make history and join James Dean in the ranks of nominees who died before their Oscar winning films were finished. Dean won two noms and Ledger probably will.
Ledger is riveting, electrifying, on fire as the mad bank robber, a slash faced caricature of evil, with a daddy back-story who fears nothing but hates everything. Wait for him in nurse drag! He paints an eye-popping picture, but is it acting or gymnastics?
Unfortunately, it is impossible not to think of sad things when he’s onscreen.
But it’s funny watching Gary Oldman, who made his way as a rebel and hater, playing the good guy, world-weary, middle aged cop. He is Commissioner Gordon, an ordinary man with extraordinary instincts, a kind of superpower, taken from years of experience on the beat. He’s an old fox with common sense and keen psychological insight.
He reads Batman, The Joker, his colleagues and the criminal element, but in his signature raincoat and thick glasses, he can’t compete for Gotham’s applause. He’s earned it but Batman, the sexy savior, is the main attraction.
Maggie Gyllenhaal makes a terrific love interest, with enough oomph to lift the comic book damsel into something. As Rachel Dawes, she’s torn between Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent (Christian Bale and Aaron Eckhart), weighing her longtime affection for Wayne (yes, she knows about Batman) against the idealistic new politician and boss who has the guts to change things.
It’s no secret that Dent is the nascent Two-Face and here we see what tipped his balance. It is a nice part, and Eckhart who I thought was miscast, rises to the legend of what was to become … Tommy Lee Jones! Good, bad, angry, lovesick competing sides of the same man - wrapped up in Gotham’s new DA/villain.
Bale is so restrained it is as if he’s barely there. He plays a secondary role to you-know-who (and looks strangely like Dent).
Rubber plays a big role in the film as always. Batman’s newly rejigged uniform and Batmobile are impressive but somewhat bulky. Not a rubber nipple in sight, George Clooney.
The film touches on civilian freedoms through Morgan Freeman’s character. He refuses to participate in Wayne Industries latest development, a system that will allow universal wiretapping through cell phone and sonar waves. In real life, American politicians may have gone for it, but Freeman, loyal as he is to Bruce Wayne, sees trouble ahead.
A niggling problem, for this and for all the Batman movies, is that key sequences are sometimes hard to follow because of the endless darkness. But of course, none of it matters.
Nothing has any relevance here but The Joker. Hard work and a reported $150 million went towards making another great chapter to the Batman film legend. Everyone’s good, Eckhart has just locked himself into a franchise and action fans will be delirious.
However, after all is said and done, it is all about Heath Ledger. It was ever thus and will be again around Oscar time.
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The Dark Knight
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