Ledger's portrayal of The Joker in "The Dark Knight"

[Piecewise]

the joker isn't evil per say
he's an anarchist with a point to prove, all his ravings and plots, the boats, dent, they all are going to prove that there is no meaning in planning, no real justice, just random injustice.

as he said, he's just ahead of the curve

his ideas make more sense then batmans if you ask me.

 

[the_tralfalmadorian]

The Joker never really scared me before. That changed with TDK. Every damn scene he was in in this movie sent chills down my spine. He scared the shit out of me.


On a side note, when Jack Nicholson played the joker, it was just Jack Nicholson in makeup. I mean it was still awesome cause Jack Nicholson is badass, but i still consciously and sub consciously new it was him. When Heath Ledger played the joker, i saw only the joker, no matter how hard i looked for Heath Ledger.

 

[HeartagramMan]

I loved the killing joke very different but i digress before i even begin.
If anything is played dark which has never been played as dark before then im all for it probably because im a sick and twisted person.
A reveiw i read desrcibed Ledgers portrayl has "Hannibel Lector as an emo" well what can i say but lulz.
I loved Hannibel to.

 

[Malidictuim]

Pie, I think I see your point.

I admit, Heath Ledger did the best job I've ever seen in any movie ever.
But if he DOES win an Oscar, it'll be hard to tell if he earned it or if it's because he's 6-feet under. Trying to sift through the "OMG HE'S DED LETZ GIEV HIM OCSAR!!!!111" and his actual acting merit would be hard.
When I first saw Heath Ledger was gonna be the Joker, I said to myself "This is gonna be so shit. He can't play a bad guy." but after I saw the movie I said to myself "That was the best performance I've EVER seen from any actor before."

 

[sma_warrior]

This is what bugs me, and bugs me it does.

Themoment an actor plays in their last movie, everyone can't help but focus on said actor.
It's because he is dead god damnit that everyone is kicking up a fuss. Yes it was a good movie, yes he played it rather well, no you should not quote every fucking line that he says at every given moment. This is what happens to me every day. Someone is always quoting a line he says in the movie in their bad representation of his voice. Another things is that because he is dead, his piss is liquid gold and anyone who so much doesn't bat an eye at his excellent performance will get raped by 14 different fans that have only just joined in "the batman craze" and who haven't even probably seen the first one.

That's what bugs me, yes he did a pretty good job, I enjoyed the movie, but he can't of been that fucking great. I hate to say it but, if he wins an oscar for it, it may be that it's a sympathy vote and not just the roll he plays. The way he plays the joker is good, and he does get quite in depth in the character, but if he does win, there will be SOME votes that are just because of sympathy.

Sorry for the rant, it just fucking bugs me that people think that he was the real star of batman, hell even the producers made it seem like the movie focused around him and not really batman.
It's almost at the point where the movie will be called "The Joker.... And possibly batman, but The Joker!"

Does it bug anyone else, or am I just insane?

You're just insane.

Regardless of what all the other critics and movie goers might say, from my own personal experience (and I've seen a LOT of movies), that genuinely was one of the best pieces of work ever done. There are very few roles where I could just sit there and watch a an actor in a role, because they just hit all the subtleties of the character correctly, and this is one of those occassions (Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is another example). Post mortem or not. The only difference now is that the next film won't have as much hype because the joker obviously wont be making a comeback.

Maybe your standards are too high? And just to clarify, this ISNT his last role - he was making (i think most of it was done) another film when he died.

 

[kiltmanfortywo]

1) This was his last completed role before he kicked it.
2) I personally don't give a shit that he died any more than if I had read about Fanu Lanu(First Name Unknown/Last Name Unknown) in the obituaries. Ya, death sucks but I am not getting bent outta shape for some random actor who I didn't know. The only thing that this really affects in my life is that we won't get a sequel with him playing the madman.
3)I started this because it was a really good acting job, not sympathy or anything. Your right, though, in that if he wins an oscar, it will be heavily weighted in the fact that he is dead.

Sorry, that sounds a little abrasive

I was really hoping for a movie that was more around the Joker than Batman; we already know everything about Batman/Wayne but the Joker is an enigma. As a character, the Joker really could use an entire movie and still not be uncovered to the point of reason. He is a great character that I would love to know more about.

Kiltman

 

[The Bandit]

This is what bugs me, and bugs me it does.

Themoment an actor plays in their last movie, everyone can't help but focus on said actor.
It's because he is dead god damnit that everyone is kicking up a fuss. Yes it was a good movie, yes he played it rather well, no you should not quote every fucking line that he says at every given moment. This is what happens to me every day. Someone is always quoting a line he says in the movie in their bad representation of his voice. Another things is that because he is dead, his piss is liquid gold and anyone who so much doesn't bat an eye at his excellent performance will get raped by 14 different fans that have only just joined in "the batman craze" and who haven't even probably seen the first one.

That's what bugs me, yes he did a pretty good job, I enjoyed the movie, but he can't of been that fucking great. I hate to say it but, if he wins an oscar for it, it may be that it's a sympathy vote and not just the roll he plays. The way he plays the joker is good, and he does get quite in depth in the character, but if he does win, there will be SOME votes that are just because of sympathy.

Sorry for the rant, it just fucking bugs me that people think that he was the real star of batman, hell even the producers made it seem like the movie focused around him and not really batman.
It's almost at the point where the movie will be called "The Joker.... And possibly batman, but The Joker!"

Does it bug anyone else, or am I just insane?

I was thinking this before I saw the movie. I told a friend that whether he deserves it or not, Ledger will get the Oscar out of sympathy.

Then I saw the movie.

He IS worthy of the praise. He DID do a fantastic job. And, if he DOESN'T get the Oscar, I want to see the guy that does. I didn't care about his death when it happened. Now I care.

 

[kiltmanfortywo]

The Joker really needed to be a much larger part of the movie, having more lines, telling us more about him, and being generally awesome. That was probably the only flaw in the movie I could find, that it did not have enough.

When a movie leaves you wanting more in a good way, I think we can safely say that it did it job and was great.

Kiltman

 

[LewsTherin]

Two words were going through my head, shortly followed by two others.

Holy Shit.

Chaotic Neutral

*Maybe Chaotic Evil, but he just seems waaaaaaaaaay too crazy*

 

[Gahars]

Yeah, I thought that Ledger was incredible.

He seemed more like the human personification of chaos and evil than an actual person to me.

Does anyone else agree?

 

[Madlarkin]

I actually didn't like Ledgers portrayal of the joker at all, too me it was kinda like ordering sausage and mash and recieving bacon and mash.
It was close, but it really wasn't quite right.

I've always seen The Joker as a very acute villain, for all of his madness. However, Ledgers joker seemed to be a rambling, bumbling hobo with terrible face paint and hair style.
He seemed to lack direction or purpose, which is what The Joker always had.

Personally, i'd rather they went more into depth about Two face. Let the Joker remain the enigma that he has always been.

 

[FranicalFrazical]

Just seen it a few hours ago and dear god in heaven....Ledgers performance was just insane... before I saw it I questioned the rumours of the posthomous(?) oscar....but that just rivals Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter.... I am not a big Batman fan but Ledger has manipulated my mind and all I want to do is buy it on DVD and watch again!

Ledger has created such an amazing portrayel of the Joker....to make someone seem so sinister but funny takes alot of skill.... I do hope he wins an oscar for this role he truely deserves it....

 

[Johnn Johnston]

Saw it this afternoon, and I went in thinking, "His performance is probably just exaggerated because of his death." I left, thinking, "Those reviewers were being mean about him." He deserves a posthumous Oscar in my opinion.

I loved the magically disappearing pencil trick. "Ta-da..."

 

[Conqueror Kenny]

Really, Heath Ledger wasn't in that movie, it WAS the Joker. He truly portrayed the insanity of the joker. Your review covered all of my opinions other than my opinion that he deserves an Oscar for this role.

 

[LadyZephyr]

It certainly felt like a performance that could kill a man. Such a damn shame.



That said, I loved Aaron Eckhardt just as much, if not more.

 

[Mstrswrd]

You know what I've always wondered? I always wonder if, when a new version of a movie is released, if the origianl actors go to see it, and compare their own performances against the new ones. Like Jack Nicholson's "Joker" to Heath Ledger's "Joker." Jack Nicholson's was more of just that. He was "The Joker." Heath Ledger's was more of "The Fucking Psychopath." I do enjoy Heath Ledger's more, however.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

I've always seen The Joker as a very acute villain, for all of his madness. However, Ledgers joker seemed to be a rambling, bumbling hobo with terrible face paint and hair style. He seemed to lack direction or purpose, which is what The Joker always had.

You might want to look at it through your scope, Larkin. (Yay for obscure references.)

Ledger's Joker did have a specific direction and purpose, and his plan to attain it was extremely acute.

Spoiler: Da kunnin' plan

The Joker in this film wanted to completely break down the existing order in Gotham. Not just that of the law, but also that of the criminals too. Cops or gangs, he wanted them all smashed into social atoms so that he could recreate Gotham in his own image; in a way he's Batman dialled to "11" and with his empathy unplugged. In another way, he's a version of the League of Shadows from Batman Begins but in it for his own gain and not for some abstract sense of justice.

Ledger's Joker's capriciousness is partly his nature, and partly a calculated performance that magnifies the effects of his actions; the fear, and more importantly the uncertainty, created by it was intended to accelerate the fall of the social order in Gotham. And you could certainly feel it working on the audience in the theatre... no one in my showing knew which way the Joker would jump, and jumped all the higher themselves as a result.

-- Steve

 

[mitsoxfan]

This is what bugs me, and bugs me it does.

Themoment an actor plays in their last movie, everyone can't help but focus on said actor

I agree partially.

He's certainly getting the 'dead artist' treatment by the producers, but to take away what he did with that role seems a little spiteful.

Don't blame Ledger for a great performance simply because the producers/Hollywood are, IMO, sullying his good name to turn more profit.

But seriously man, Ledger took the Joker, and all possible preconceived notions about how one may play him in a movie and blew them out of the water, and then made a pencil disappear with those notions.

I think it was one of the most riveting villain performances since Hannibal Lecter in Silence. True to character, drawing both on past performances, comics, and a lot of self injected ideas and made them all work.