Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008

Heath Ledger R.I.P

I heard the news while I was surfing the news pages at CNN.com.  I couldn’t believe it.  At first I thought “Heath Ledger is dead” was the name of some new hip indie film project much like “Being John Malkovich” or “Color Me Kubrick” or something.  I sat at my desk stunned when I realized the story was for real.  He never seemed like someone destined for such a death.  Frankly no one would be surprised if something like this happend to Lindsay Lohan or Brittney Spears, but the fact it was Heath Ledger was really an unexpected shock.  I didn’t see 10 Things I Hate About Your or A Knight’s Tale, as they seemed to be like more teen type movies that really didn’t appeal to me.  Then I saw him in Monster’s Ball.  Even though his part was relatively small, he really stood out in that film and made an impact.  Then I saw Brokeback Mountain.  I was blown away by how wonderful he was in that film.  He and Jake Gyllenhaal really made that passion and love seem very powerful and achingly real.  The film stayed with me and I thought about it for days afterward.  I suspect that Brokeback Mountain will stand the test of time and be remembered 25 or even 50 years from now.  Ledger’s performance is a big reason why.  With that role, he created an iconic character that will live on and that is something that many actors spend their whole careers striving for and often never achieve.  I just assumed that Ledger would continue to turn in great performances and that he would eventually turn to writing and directing much the same way Sean Penn has.  He was clearly headed towards being one of the more artistically daring and gifted actors of his generation.  Before his death, I became obsessed with the new Batman trailer for The Dark Knight.  I watched it like 7 times on the internet.  Ledger was so brilliant as the joker in the trailer and took the depth and menace of that character to a level that Jack Nicholson or Ceasar Romero never even dreamed of. 

I feel terribly sad for the Ledger family, for his friends, his co-workers, for Michelle Williams and for his daughter that will never get to know him.

I greatly admired his work and as a film fan I too feel a sense of sadness and loss.