fanthropology: A question about the Dark Knight

anarchicq (

anarchicq) wrote in

fanthropology,
@ 2008-04-29 15:32:00

A question about the Dark Knight - Your Predictions
I hope this is an acceptable post.

I was just watching a trailer for the Dark Knight movie and I'm still not utterly floored by the interpretation of The Joker.

My question is: Do you think fans, critics and the media will be softer on Heath's rendition as the Joker due to his untimely death and the supposed difficulty he had during the role? Or do you think people will be able to separate Heath from Joker and look at the performance itself and not the tragedy surrounding it?

(Post a new comment)

	philstar22 2008-04-29 10:42 pm UTC (link)
	Well, first off, given the trailer and what I've heard and read in interviews, I don't think this is going to be a problem. I think we are all going to be blown away by the performance. However, to answer, I think it will depend on the person. People who were big fans of Heath are going to be more likely to cut him some slack while Batman fans are less likely. (Reply to this)

	alias_sqbr 2008-04-29 10:48 pm UTC (link)
	I'm not sure, but it might be worth looking at how critics treated "The Crow" (since it's main actor died during shooting) (Reply to this)(Thread)

	anarchicq 2008-04-29 10:52 pm UTC (link)
	Yes, I was thinking of the Crow when typing this. But didn't he die in an on-set accident? Also, that character is not as iconic or well known as The Joker. But yeah, it's a good comparison none-the-less. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	amedia 2008-04-30 12:57 am UTC (link)
	There was also that movie with Aaliyah - was that Queen of the Damned? I don't think critics were any kinder about her performance because of her untimely demise just before it was released. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	lots42 2008-04-30 03:10 pm UTC (link)
	I had no idea anyone in Queen of the Damned died...I flamed it for being a poor movie. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	alias_sqbr 2008-04-30 02:32 am UTC (link)
	Yeah, it's not quite the same, it just came to mind as being kind of similar. The easy thing to do if you don't like the role, of course, is say that Heath Ledger did a perfectly fine job with the material he was given, and blame it all on the writer/director etc :) (Reply to this)(Parent)

thewolfmistress
2008-04-29 11:01 pm UTC (link)

I personally think people have already been rather impressed with Heath's performance long before his death. There was a bit of hemming and hawing when he was first announced, but once the teasers began to leak, people began to get really excited about his portrayal of the Joker. So, I doubt people would start to grow soft at all. However, there is the possibility that some reviews would soften a bit.

(Reply to this)

phiremangston
2008-04-29 11:29 pm UTC (link)

I agree with

thewolfmistress. I was impressed with Ledger's interpretation once teasers were out. I was saddened when he died, but as someone who's generally fairly critical of theatre and film, it hasn't affected my view of his interpretation much.

I can't say the same for everyone else, obviously. But I think that the majority of the Batman fen's opinions will not be affected terribly by Ledger's death.

Critics will spin it to suit whatever rating they give the movie, but that's critics (well, mostly) for you.

(Reply to this)

	mishalak 2008-04-29 11:50 pm UTC (link)
	Not me. I'm probably still going to dislike it because I dislike Batman. World's biggest Marty Stu character. And could he not reveal his identity to his love interest just once? Which is a shame because I like most Batman villains. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	aralondwen 2008-04-30 12:00 am UTC (link)
	Ha! As much as I love Batman, I have to agree with you, he´s totally a Marty Stu. Also, I love your icon. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

mishalak
2008-04-30 05:32 am UTC (link)

Thanks!

frostfox did that drawing of me back in 2003 and I made it into an icon.

I have liked some aspects of Batman at different times. I liked a number of episodes of the Animated series. I was bored by Batman Begins. I expect that unless I get a free pass I won't go to see the Dark Knight whozits until I can check it out for free at the library or it gets to the cheap theater.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

	lots42 2008-04-30 03:11 pm UTC (link)
	??? Batman's always at least trying to reveal his identity to the womens, in comics and movies. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	roseembolism 2008-04-30 12:58 am UTC (link)
	I'd hope they'd be kind to Heath Ledger for giving a good performance. Also, bear in mind, that critics have generally been kind to superhero miovies when they haven't been totally excreble. I hope that dark Knight will earn a similar reaction. (Reply to this)

lil_shepherd
2008-04-30 05:09 am UTC (link)

Let's turn it about.

I thought he was impressive in the teasers - certainly indicating a better (or at any rate scarier) Joker than Nicholson's. If he is as good in the film itself, the critics can simply be honest. Of course, there will always be people who don't agree with that critical assessment, and who say that the critics were kind because of his tragic death...

If it isn't an impressive performance, the critics will probably gloss past it, focusing on other aspects of the film, as a kindness, except for those who remark that this is not the performance he'd wish to be remembered by.

In fact, from critical viewpoint, the poor fella can't win. If he gets good critical reviews, there will always be some people who will say it was because of the manner of his death.

Edited at 2008-04-30 05:10 am UTC

(Reply to this)

	lots42 2008-04-30 03:09 pm UTC (link)
	Not really, the media is for whatever gets ratings. (Reply to this)

hangcoatcliff
2008-05-03 01:41 am UTC (link)

Ledger was very good at representing in anything macabre, so any fan that dislikes his take is bitter or perhaps not as dystopian as us fans of Alan Moore and Greg Rucka's Batman interpretations.

He is so blissfully, utterly, evilly the Joker from what I can tell--as I knew the Joker growing up, at least. Cesare Romero and Jack Nicholson aren't frightening enough for me, and even if Heath Ledger never read the comics the source material he drew from inspired interpretations of the Joker, or at least drew from the same murky themes.

The Nolans have brought forth the Batman that I enjoyed growing up, and for that I am very grateful. If critics dislike the movie it's more because they're up in arms over the deviant artistic take the Nolan brothers have given the movies. It's not very surround sound and it's not particularly blockbuster oriented. Like their work with The Prestige, it's exaggerated, strange, and almost literary.

(I'm one of the weird fans who didn't mind Ducard being conflated with R'as Al Ghul, because the combined result was really artistic.
Katie Holmes in place of Leslie Thompkins was kvetch-worthy.
Okay--rabid Batman fan shuts up...)

(Reply to this)

Username:		Create an Account Forgot your login? Login w/ OpenID
Password:
	Remember Me
	English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…