The Ordinary Death of an Extraordinary Person

I'm not so sorry to say that the passing of Heath Ledger was the first death of a public figure in my lifetime that I did not meet, at least partially, with somewhat feigned and dutiful grief. (I am a little sorry to be just another contributor to Ledger's "still-unfurling eulogy.") My sadness in this instance was, and is, plain and genuine. I am not devastated. I cannot and probably shouldn't be. Ledger was not even an acquaintance of mine. But I know who he was and I was impressed with his rise from the teen-themed margins from which he came to the role in Brokeback Mountain that (ironically) made him a house hold name. His portrayal of Ennis Del Mar (a name the meaning of which still baffles me with its pelagic foot, as the character remains in the middle part of this country throughout the movie) was lovely and distressing.

The same can be said of his portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Night. The character is typically limned with an angular grin full of teeth, narcissistic and quaffed. Though this new version of the Joker presumably cares about his appearance (we are told when he is finally arrested that his clothing is "custom" and has no labels), he is greasy and sweaty, reveling in his madness like a pig in its own shit. His makeup, referred to as "warpaint" at one point by an extra, creeps and drips into the creases of his face; his voice would sound sniveling if he wasn't so mean. But Ledger's Joker does not necessarily cause recoil. He is slim and ageless and slightly effeminate. These qualities, mixed with the character's spryness and unwavering commitment, supplies him with a dark sexuality akin to that of, say, Dracula.

But the finality of this role is what makes it so compelling. The movie, of course, was shot with a sequel in mind, and surely with a continuance of the rivalry set up between the batman and his new found foil. That would now be an impossibility unless Ledger was replaced. The franchise has done it before, replacing Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes with Maggie Gyllenhaall. But Holmes, though possibly brainwashed, is not dead. The change was also an improvement; both actresses have tiny, smirking mouths, but that is where their similarities end. It will be interesting to see what Warner Brothers decides to do. There has been speculation that Ledger's death had as much to do with the movie's opening weekend success as anything else, but if he hadn't died, I suspect it might have done just as well.

I eagerly await The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, Ledger's for-real last movie. He looks extra good in it, and his mask reminds me of a penis.

You are missed, handsome.