First look at Heath Ledger's last film

A video in which Terry Gilliam talks about The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus has been released. It's the first look at the final film of actor Heath Ledger. He never completed the role, and the remaining footage was completed by Jude Law, Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell. Hopes are high for this one. Heath Ledger deserves a great final film, and Terry Gilliam deserves a bit of luck and a hit. Released next year.

THE DARK KNIGHT (2008) - Christopher Nolan

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last six months, the marketing for Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight has been gaining frantic momentum. The film finally got it’s release in the last week. The Dark Knight is the sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins, the film that resurrected the franchise after it was beaten to a horrible neon death by Joel Schumacher. The film, and it’s sequel, take a whole different approach to the subject matter, aiming for films more grounded in ‘reality’ than the whole gothic approach established in Burton’s movies. And while it may be difficult, I’ll resist the urge to descend into hyperbolic fanboy ranting when I talk about the film.

The Dark Knight sees Batman dealing with the problems of escalation which he and Jim Gordon discussed at the end of Batman Begins. Crime in Gotham is taken to a whole new level when a character known only as The Joker begins his campaign to bring chaos to the order in Gotham. However, the new district atourney, Harvey Dent is Gotham’s shining knight. He’s incorruptible and determined to bring a new age to Gotham. Seeing this, Bruce Wayne begins to envision an end to his crusade. Gotham will no longer need a hero in him. They’ll have a public hero in Harvey Dent.



It’s very difficult to know where to begin with The Dark Knight. The thing that has people talking the most is Heath Ledger’s performance. A pretty vigorous campaign has been launched to see the actor at least nominated for an Academy Award. While I think that’s all rather stupid, I will admit, his performance is astonishing. I remember when he was cast, many people doubted the actor could pull it off. I did raise an eyebrow, but I maintained that Nolan knew what he was doing. And he certainly has proved the doubters wrong. Ledger’s Joker is quite unlike any comic book villain put to screen. Forget Nicholson’s now camp gay uncle Joker from 1989’s Batman. This Joker is formidable. He does get laughs, but the laughs for the most part are out of shock. Ledger spent a great deal of time becoming the character, and every nuance shows how deeply he immersed himself in the role.

And while Ledger is the face and body of the Joker, a great deal of credit must go to Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan for writing the character. What I found most interesting about their script is that when he’s off screen, even then the sense of malice created by the Joker lingers over proceedings. To that end, the point can be made that the Joker almost overshadows the entire film. Which, if treated incorrectly, could have spelled disaster for the movie. However, the Nolans’ writing is meticulous. Some people have complained that the film is too long. I couldn’t disagree more. It is long. But the pace is relentless. There’s plenty to cram in, and if I was to have one complaint about the film’s running time it would be that the inclusion of Two-Face was a little brief. Two-Face is, for me, is second only to the Joker as Batman’s most compelling villain. He was once a pillar of virtue who, through tragic events, turns to the dark side. He’s obsessed with chance, and this makes for a very compelling character. Aaron Eckhart, who plays Dent certainly delivers a compelling performance. He’s dynamic and energetic, but he also has an edge. An edge the Joker seems determined to exploit. It’s a shame Two-Face makes such a brief appearance, because Eckhart certainly makes him a character worthy of a film by himself.



On the other side of the coin (see what I did there?) we have Christian Bale and Gary Oldman returning as the good, Bruce Wayne/Batman and Jim Gordon. Something that was only touched upon in the last film was Bruce Wayne’s billionaire playboy lifestyle. In The Dark Knight, we get a better view of Wayne’s lifestyle. Bale delivers the goods here, certainly carrying across the cocksure attitude Wayne has developed to throw off suspicions that he is Batman. The Bat-voice is back again. It’s a little strong at the start of the film, but eases up and never becomes too much of a hindrance. Gary Oldman delivers the second best performance of the film. It’s a very understated performance, and it’s so subtle, it almost goes unnoticed. But Oldman’s presence is so integral to the success of the film that there would be a huge void were his character removed. In a film that’s jam packed full of larger than life characters, it’s a stand out performance to have someone so real as Gordon.

Nolan’s direction is meticulous. He stated that Michael Mann’s Heat was a great inspiration for The Dark Knight, and you certainly get that impression watching the film. As with Heat, the pace moves very quickly, with not one scene wasted with pointless exposition. As we’ve come to expect from Nolan’s films, there are some sleights of hand in the writing. Nolan seems to delight in misdirection, and it’s no different in this film. There are many themes touched upon in the film. Light and dark. The question of the goodness in human nature. At moments, the morality is with little subtlety. But the film never gets too heavy handed. It’s also a beautifully shot film. Wally Pfister has developed a relationship with Nolan since Memento, and their combined efforts make for a visually stunning piece of film. Special mention must be made for the score of the film. James Newton Howard’s themes return for the film, but this time Hans Zimmer completes the score. For the Joker, he uses one simple note played out on violins. It’s incredibly ominous, and just added to the menace of the Joker.



As a comic book film, The Dark Knight is without a doubt the finest comic book adaptation put to screen. The Batman animated series from the 1990s was one of the most faithful depictions of the character, and this film is as close to that series as you’re ever going to see. But the film transcends the pigeon holing that comes with the words ‘comic book movie.’ Sure, it’s a film about a guy who dresses up as a bat and hunts down a murderous clown. But it’s as good as any crime drama you’re likely to see. The hype surrounding Ledger’s Joker is not exaggerated. He is every bit as good as you’re hearing. He’s incredibly menacing, yet still humorous as you’d expect from the character. He’s the best thing about the very strong ensemble cast. There are a few elements I haven’t covered. The fact that we see Batman as a detective, the essence of what the Batman character is. Maggie Gyllenhaal’s performance as Rachael Dawes, which is vastly superior to Katie Holmes’ performance in Batman Begins. The superb chase through Gotham streets, one of the stand out action sequences not only in the film, but this year. But to cover these things would require another review by itself. The Dark Knight is incredibly entertaining and compelling. As well as being the best film of the summer it’s one of the best of the year. It’s the finest of all comic book films.


10/10

Heath Ledger 1979-2008

Today brings the sad news of the passing of actor Heath Ledger. While details of his death are speculative and not for me to comment on, what I can say is that this is a great loss. Ledger was a very talented actor with some fine roles under his belt, including his Oscar-nominated role in 2005's Brokeback Mountain, and only last year in I'm Not There. Never an actor to go for blockbuster roles, Ledger's choices in roles were always interesting and challenging. We can only speculate as to what great performances he'd have delivered in the future.

A great loss for film fans everywhere.

I'M NOT THERE (2007) - Todd Haynes

When is a biopic not a biopic? The answer is when it’s Todd Haynes’ examination of the life and experiences of Bob Dylan in I’m Not There. Dylan is one of, if not, the greatest songwriter of all time. As well as writing some of the greatest songs ever sung, Dylan’s life has seen the singer go through many different personas. After emerging as the great poster boy of 60’s folk music, enlightening a generation to social problems, alienating a great many of his folk fans by switching to electric guitar, to his ‘rebirth’ as a Christian, Dylan’s life would make for a pretty packed straight biopic. But Haynes departs from the conventional biopic and presents Dylan’s many personas through a number of different characters. This is not Walk The Line.

As mentioned, I’m Not There concentrates on six different characters, each of which personify either Dylan at a different time of his life, or an aspect of his life. Firstly we have Marcus Carl Franklin who plays an eleven year old boy by the name of Woodie Guthrie (after the folk singer and inspiration for the real Dylan) who travels the south in box cars, singing songs and spouting wisdom far beyond his years. Christian Bale plays Jack Rollins, a protesting folk-singer who turns his back on music in favour of devotion to God. Heath Ledger is Robbie Clark, an actor who makes his break playing Jack Rollins in a biopic of the singer. Ben Whishaw is Arthur Rimbaud who answers questions in front of what seems to be some sort of panel of agents. Cate Blanchett portrays Jude Quinn, who is the personification of Dylan we’ll be most familiar with. Quinn has just arrived in Britain to hoardes of fans, accusations of selling out, and more drugs than he can handle. And finally, Richard Gere plays Billy the Kid who has turned his back on society to live a life in solitude in some sort of anachronistic version of the old west.



As much an examination of what a biopic is as a study of Dylan’s life, I’m Not there mixes many different styles and techniques as it presents each story. For example, the segment about Jack Rollins is shot as a documentary that is a retrospective of Rollins’ life. Where as, the segment about Jude Quinn is more what would be expected from a conventional biopic. Haynes mixes up the stories and cuts back and forth between each character. The result is we never quite know what time period we’re in, and where things are happening. The Quinn part being the only sure part of the film since that period in Dylan’s career is probably the most famous. We see Quinn’s first live performance using an electric guitar, something that horrifies his fans and spills over to the tour of Britain he undertakes where cries of ‘Judas!’ are heard from the crowd.

In biopics, the performances of the actors portraying the real life person is always going to be under the most scrutiny. Having six actors portray the same person, or an aspect of that person does make for an incredibly interesting experience. Yet it’s not like you spend the film thinking ‘well, that actor is more the Dylan I know than that actor.’ In fact, every performance in the film is excellent, whether it’s one of the six central actors, or a member of the supporting cast. One of the best performances in the film comes from Bruce Greenwood, who plays Keenan Jones, a BBC journalist who personifies all the journalists who attacked Dylan for turning his back on humanity and the plight of his fellow man when he made the change from folk to electric. Greenwood also plays and aged Pat Garrett, the arch nemesis of Billy the Kid, who wants to destroy the town the Kid has come to love after turning his back on his former outlaw life.



However, the performance that is getting the most attention, and deservedly so, is Cate Blanchett, who plays Jude Quinn. Aside from the fact that Blanchett is a woman portraying a man, she also becomes a version of Dylan that is instantly recognisable. Anyone who’s seen Martin Scorsese’s brilliant No Direction Home will recognise what Blanchett has achieved when they see the footage of Dylan in Britain in the 60’s. Not only is Blanchett brilliant at portraying this pastiche of Dylan, she also puts in a brilliant performance of a singer at the height of his fame, and how the excesses, and his own personality are slowly destroying him physically. Blanchett’s scenes with Bruce Greenwood, and the moments with David Cross as beat poet Allen Ginsberg are among the highlights of the film.

It’s needless to say that the soundtrack is fantastic. Haynes doesn’t just go for the instantly recognisable songs from Dylan’s vast catalogue throughout the film. Of course, anyone vaguely familiar with Dylan’s music will recognise some of the bigger hits. However, Haynes also employs a number of artists to cover Dylan’s songs throughout the film. The characters sing Dylan’s songs, but sung by different artists. There are Dylan-sung Dylan songs in there, but by the cover versions add a refreshing twist to the film, and suit the scenes perfectly.

Of course the question begs, is there anything for non-Dylan fans in this film? While I’ll admit, being a Dylan fan, and having knowledge of his life certainly did add something to the film, I think there’s plenty to allow non-fans in. Like I said, I’m Not There is very different to the likes of Walk The Line. It’s certainly a more art-house film, and in no way a conventional biopic. But for someone as enigmatic as Dylan, it’s the perfect way to take a look at his life.


9/10

Harvey Dent & The Joker revealed!

So here we have the first views of Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent. And... drumroll please... Heath Ledger as The Joker. It seems the Warner Brother are finally taking the marketing of a film seriously. The Dent image was released on a mock-up election website for Harvey Dent, the District Attorney of Gotham City. Hopefully this will just be a splash page for a more comprehensive Harvey Dent election website.

The Harvey Dent for District Attorney site



Meanwhile, another site has popped up over the weekend. A website that has been hijacked by the Joker, asks viewers to enter a code and an email address in order to reveal a pixel of what may very well be the final look of Heath Ledger as the Clown Prince of Crime. The net went on a frenzy of email entering and pretty quickly, the image of The Joker was revealed-



The Joker hijacked site

Personally, I like the way Nolan and his team are going down the scarred route with the Joker. It fits in more with the vision Nolan created with Batman Begins.
So far, Warner Brothers are going down a good route with this film. They seem to be taking the marketing of this film very seriously, something Warners don't have a very good history of doing. Hopefully this trend will continue not just with this film, but with others too.

SWEAR TO ME!

Here's the first official image released by Warner Brothers for the Batman Begins sequel, THE DARK KNIGHT. Personally, I'm pretty damn excited about this one, and I don't get excited by superhero movies. The sequel, directed by The Prestige and Memento director, Christopher Nolan sees Batman going up against everyone's favorite comic psycho, the Joker, played by surprise casting, Heath Ledger.



Ain't It Cool News reports (somewhat unreliably) that the first teaser for The Dark Knight will appear in front of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix this summer. I find this pretty difficult to believe as shooting has only just begun. But we'll have to wait until July to know for sure. Watch this space!

Warner Brothers Dark Knight website