Heath Of the Knight

Heath scared me. He will almost always surely give the audience lasting creeps with his performance in his last fully-finished feature film, The Dark Knight. His acting is so raw, so larger than life, it seems Joker will literally follow you until you get home – then initiate a “game” that you’ll eventually lose, to his utmost delight.

The Dark Knight has broken box-office records as fast as the Batmobile can transform, and the mighty movie Titanic is the only ‘iceberg’ that stops it to be the ultimate champ in terms of kerching-kerching (ticket sales seems to be the domain of older films like Gone With the Wind). It’s been said that Titanic’s staying power is attributed to its use of universal themes: love, and good versus evil. A movie is usually escapist: people are allowed to halt their lives for two or so hours, as they enter a different world where their can-never-be-fulfilled wishes or moments – the hot car, the mansion by the seaside, the to-die-for man/lady, the passionate kiss, the rags-to-riches story, the sweet revenge, snow – come true. Good versus evil is a given in superhero movies, but the love aspect is not as dominant in The Dark Knight.

Heath Ledger’s untimely death is the film’s undeniable x-factor. The trailer that I watched almost did not feature Batman that for a moment, I thought the term Dark Knight doubly referred to Joker, given his very dark character. Perhaps the idea of a dead person acting on screen, that there can be no future releases featuring Heath, prompted fans and non-fans alike to troop the theaters. (Apparently, Heath has an unfinished fantasy movie, and his character will be jointly portrayed by Hollywood superstars Colin Farrell, Jude Law, and Johnny Depp)

I’m not a Batman fanatic, so I can’t say that I was floored by the movie. Heath’s acting is indeed exceptional, but Aaron Eckhart’s turn as Two-Face is commendable as well (I just found his coin-flicking villain portion too short). Morgan Freeman delivered another Morgan Freeman performance, so that’s not surprising. It’s nice to note that Maggie Gyllenhaal (who replaced Katie Holmes) is the brother of Jake, who co-starred with Heath in Brokeback Mountain. Also, Maggie, for me, looks like Kirsten Dunst, Jake’s former lover.

Oops, before I forget, I just need to mention this: Batman’s voice annoyed me. Christian Bale was really good; it’s unfair that all his efforts were somehow overshadowed by Heath. His Batman showed a humane side, unlike the action-figure acts of the previous Batmans. However, his voice, when in costume, isn’t pleasing at all to the ears. In fact, I was too distracted that I failed to absorb what he was saying.

Heath’s death saddened the world, given that his career is in an upswing prior to the over-dosage. This might be a reminder to us to give our best in whatever we do, and that we should learn to appreciate things while they last. The likes of Heath can inspire in a span of 120 minutes; we normal beings, without our utmost knowledge, can do the same as well.