Why So Serious?

The film world lost a great one today, long before his time should have been up. Heath Ledger, age 28, died today. He was about five years older than I am, as he would have turned 29 in April. Deaths like this put your life in perspective. You never know what day you will wake up, do your daily routine, all without knowing it will be your last time. Heath’s career was budding. After Brokeback Mountain, most of Hollywood knew his name. With The Dark Knight, the second Batman film directed by Christopher Nolan, he was to be the successor of Jack Nicholson in the role of The Joker. The film wrapped principle photography, so that is at least secure, as of now. He was filming another movie, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, when he died, and that one looks to be in jeopardy, as it was in the middle of production. Will The Dark Knight be the last time we see Heath Ledger on screen? A talented, wide-ranging actor, ends his life with a role like The Joker. Serial killer, insane, a malicious smile upon his face. Is this how you would want to go out? I certainly would be torn. On the one hand, I guarantee people will believe that the role led to his death, that acting crazy made him crazy. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that is ridiculous. No, there is no Batman curse that has been transfered over from The Superman Curse, and no, the role had nothing to do with what happened. He simply died. End of story. Even if he did commit suicide, or if he overdosed on pills, this was not because he was The Joker. It was because he was a troubled man. None of this has been confirmed, so I’m not going to speculate on any of this until there are facts to turn to.

Now, for the other side of going out as The Joker: the character is one of the best known comic book creations in the history of the DC Universe. He is the villain of villains and heroes alike, and has appeared everywhere from lunch boxes to cartoons to posters. If Heath plays The Joker as well as I believe he will, he will go out on top. The performance will always be remembered. If he tops Nicholson, more power to him. No one will be able to replace the image of a man who died with the role in the eyes of fans and movie-goers alike. Plus, the viral marketing campaign already had people jazzed for the movie; even those who would not have seen it originally are now interested. Heath’s death will drive even more people to the theaters. So yes, The Dark Knight will be a success on multiple plains. A great movie, with roles to remember.

Rest in peace Heath. You leave behind a daughter who will hear stories about you for a long time to come. While your career might have been cut short, it was still longer than most, with more accolades than some people who have been in the business twice as long have achieved. The line I titled this column with is apropos to the situation. “Why so serious?” Today, we are allowed to be.