J.B.’s Heath Ledger Oscar Nod Blog

One thing about Heath Ledger’s role as the Joker that I’ve failed to talk about thus far is the sheer unpredictability of the role.  Most villains in movies, based on comic books or not, have a motive behind why they commit the crimes they do.  In may cases, these motives include things such as money, world domination, power, greed, etc.  What is so brilliant about the Joker is that he has no motive… no cause.  The “clown prince of crime’s” zest for living comes from the feeling he gets when he commits crimes.  He commits crimes for the sake of committing crimes.  As he says in a scene from The Dark Knight, “This city deserves a better class of criminal, and I’m gonna give it to them.”  What the Joker is referring to is the selfish motives in which the strong majority of criminals thrive off of when they carry out their individual crimes.  To further prove his point, as he said the above quote, there is a stack of money about thirty feet high being burned behind him. He doesn’t run on money.  He runs on creating chaos.  As Bruce Wayne’s butler Alfred said in The Dark Knight, “Some me just want to watch the world burn.”

The Joker is pure madness.  Heath Ledger played the part of a madman to perfection, making him deserving of the Best Supporting Actor Oscar at the upcoming Academy Awards.  To show you an example of his brilliant role, I’ve inserted a clip.  Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7EWpYvX29o

Even though I’ve devoted this entire semester to writing about Heath Ledger, I’m constantly coming by articles that are starting to make me believe that I really don’t have to.  More and more movie experts are saying that Ledger is a lock for the Best Supporting Actor nominaiton for the 2009 Oscars, and many of them are even going as far to say that he is a loc to win the whole thing.  This time around, I read an article in which the numbers speak for themselves.

As of November 11, 2008, The Dark Knight has brought in $997, 535,317 in the box office.  When the blockbuster is re-released in January, it is expected that there will be more than enough moviegoers that will see the film again to push the film over the $1 billion mark.

The Dark Knight was a movie that could stand on it’s own with or without Ledger.  Director Christopher Nolan put a true masterpiece together when he filmed TDK.  However, none of this would have been possible if it wasn’t for the brilliant performance of Heath Ledger as the Joker.  Before his untimely death, the marketing plan for TDK was intended to center around the character of The Joker.  There was a reason for that.  The role was truly one of the all-time greats.

However, the death of Ledger has forever caused a cloud of mystique linger over his portrayal of The Joker.  Where would the story have gone after TDK?  What new heights could have been conquered my Ledger if he hadn’t have passed on in January?  That’s what is so interesting about this topic.  There are so many angles that one needs to consider that may make or break his Oscar chances, but then so many new angles are developed in your head that make you wander, in Lehman’s terms, “What if?”