Why so serious?

 If you didn't know, the Academy Awards were on last night.

There's a good chance you don't know, because the ratings for the annual award show have been dropping precipitously in recent years. Frankly, I'm not surprised. I myself have lost nearly all interest in the show after years of seeing the films I enjoy be ignored in favor of all those "serious pictures" with the nuns and the lawyers. Booooooring!

The last straw was this year when 2008's masterpiece and box office beast, The Dark Knight, as critically acclaimed a "blockbuster" as there has ever been, was snubbed in nearly every major category. Best Picture? Nope. Best Director? Sorry Christopher Nolan, not this time. Heck, even Christian Bale's terrifying Terminator rant was ignored. That should have at least gotten a nod for animated short.

So to me, Oscar once again proved his irrelevance to the movie going public this year. That said, the golden rod did get one thing right; the late Heath Ledger was nominated for (and won) Best Supporting Actor for his simply genius performance as The Joker.

As a lifelong Batman fan (and an avowed lover of Nolan's series reboot, Batman Begins) I was anticipating The Dark Knight, and The Joker's involvement in it, from the moment I saw the final frame of the first movie, when Jim Gordon hands Batman the familiar calling card of Gotham's latest terrorist.

When casting announcements for TDK started rolling out and Ledger's name was attached as The Joker, I admit I scratched my head. Having never seen what was arguably his best known role in Brokeback Mountain, all I knew of Ledger was from the late 90's teen flick 10 Things I Hate About You (a really fun movie, by the way). I dug him in that, but he didn't exactly scream "Clown Prince of Crime" to me.

Then the first teaser for the film leaked, featuring no scenes - only the Batman logo and a number of voices from the movie. And from the very first maniacal cackle, I knew Ledger was doing something really special with The Joker.

But as has been much reported over the past year, Ledger died tragically in January of last year as the result of an accidental overdose of prescription medication, robbing the entertainment world of a gifted performer and, more importantly, robbing his daughter Matilda of her father.

For better or worse, Ledger's death served to amp up the hype for the film a thousand fold. Rumors flew that his time in character was so disturbing, it haunted him for the rest of his days. This was in contrast to reports from his fellow actors and the director who described him as perfectly happy and enthused on set, able to switch in and out of "Joker mode" with ease.

Whatever led to Ledger's early demise, it can't be denied that when The Dark Knight hit the screens, his performance stole the film. Every time he is on screen, it's hard to take your eyes off him. From his facial tics to his manic line deliveries to that haunting laugh, he simply nailed the iconic character and gave the industry what will certainly be one of the most memorable villainous performances ever.

So even though Oscar is still lame for snubbing TDK where it counted, I applaud the Academy for recognizing the incredible achievement of a gifted performer who left the world far too soon. I'm glad he got his due.

And... I might just watch next year. No promises.

Comments

[why soserious]

Heath legend.Absolutely fantastic excellent movie,the god took this excellent actor because we do not deserve him..... Ledger in our hearts.......

[T]

Nice writing. Joined on the bandwagon with the "Bale thing" though, getting a little old. But, agree with everything else. TDK was a great movie.