Heath Ledger: 1979-2008

by Brian Eggert
1/22/2008

Heath Ledger, an impressive young talent at 28, was found dead today in his Manhattan apartment. Swirling reports suggest suicide or a possible drug overdose, as he was found face down on the end of his bed, a bottle of pills nearby according to NYC authorities. An autopsy is planned for Wednesday the 23rd to determine the exact cause of death. Whatever the reason behind his passing, his absence will be felt all around the movie industry.

The Australian-born actor emerged in Hollywood as a teen in the late 1990s, taking a role in 10 Things I Hate About You, a distant reinvention of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. He continued in mostly commercial roles, like the charming son of Mel Gibson in The Patriot, or the hero in A Knight’s Tale, an odd mix of pop-culture and medieval battle. He pushed forward, impressing critics with his dark performance in Marc Forster’s Monster’s Ball. Further serious roles in Ned Kelly, The Four Feathers, and the flop The Order followed.

With his role in Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain in 2005, Ledger earned himself widespread acclaim, including an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. In that role, we see range we might not have thought him capable of. He plays a sheepherder in the 1960s, who discovers his homosexuality in a time when being gay was dangerous. Along with his costar Jake Gyllenhaal, the two made the most believable and affecting romance put to film in years. Ledger fell in love and had a child (now 2-years old) with his Brokeback Mountain costar Michelle Williams; they never married.

Filming the maligned production The Brothers Grimm with Terry Gilliam in 2004, and then Casanova in 2005, Ledger was perhaps underrated. But we saw his remarkable possibility late in 2007 in I’m Not There, where he played one of many interpretations of Bob Dylan.

Also in 2007, Ledger began filming The Dark Knight with director Christopher Nolan, a follow up to Batman Begins with Christian Bale returning as Batman. Ledger was cast as The Joker. Moving towards a scarier interpretation of the iconic villain, Ledger described his take as a “psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy.” Fans of the Batman movies will be happy to know that Ledger’s work on The Dark Knight, according to Aint It Cool News, was completely fulfilled. The film is set to release on July 18th of this year. No word yet on how Warner Brothers will market the film in lieu of this tragedy; previous movie trailers and posters prominently displayed Ledger’s frightening interpretation of The Joker.

Some reports imply that the stress of playing The Joker wore on the actor, a performance his costar Michael Caine called "one of the scariest performances I’ve ever seen.” Ledger told The New York Times, "Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night. I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going." The interview said Ledger took two Ambien pills, which worked for only an hour. One cannot help but speculate about these comments in relation to his death.

Worrisome is Ledger’s current production, a Terry Gilliam film entitled The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Reports say that Ledger was filming the picture as recently as a few days ago. How his death will change the film is yet to be determined. Ledger’s role was supporting to leads Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits. Gilliam films have a history of troubled productions, from Brazil to The Brothers Grimm. One hopes the loss of Ledger will not defeat the ill-fortuned filmmaker once again…

Today we lost an actor who was blooming into one of our greatest young performers. There’s an ever-present turmoil in his various onscreen personas, something he conveys through subtle gestures, twitches, and facial expressions. With his benchmark roles in Brokeback Mountain, I’m Not There, and Monster’s Ball, as well as his sure-to-be great spin on The Joker in The Dark Knight, Ledger joins the much too long list of young talent like James Dean and River Phoenix to go before their time. Not only will he be missed because of his remarkable finished work, but also because of his inestimable potential.


Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review