Alternate Takes 07.19.08: The Dark Knight

Posted by Shawn S. Lealos on 07.19.2008

With the arrival of the biggest movie event of the summer, join Alternate Takes as we look at the career of Heath Ledger.



Hello and welcome to Week 13 of Alternate Takes. My name is Shawn Lealos and I'm preparing for this weekend, where my most anticipated movie release of the summer finally hits theaters. I grabbed my tickets early last week, so I can catch the showing in the new luxurious Warren Theater in, of all places, Moore, Oklahoma. We will be sitting in the balcony (21-to enter) where we have servers to wait on us hand and foot. And for my wife, individually controlled heated seats. And alcohol. And the best movie of the summer. Saturday, I learn what it is like to be in Heaven. There is absolutely no chance I will be disappointed by this movie, so you will all get a chance to read my gushing review of it by the time the weekend is completed.

THE DARK KNIGHT



Directed by Christopher Nolan
Cast: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Caine, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman

Look at that cast list. Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk were seen as an interesting movement, as both took great actors (Robert Downey Jr. and Edward Norton) over muscle bound action stars. That is not a new thing. Look at Tim Burton's insistence on choosing Michael Keaton over the more action oriented stars of the time Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford. It was also the same with Batman Begins . Yes, Christian Bale packed on the muscle to play the caped crusader, but for director Christopher Nolan, it was all about the acting chops of his cast. Casting Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon was brilliant! This movie went one step further and recast the last movie's weak link with a wonderful actress in Maggie Gyllenhaal. Nolan also went in a startlingly different direction for villain. Out went the naturally creepy Cillian Murphy, the stereotypical baddie of Rutger Hauer, and the always dangerous Liam Neeson (there were three bad guys in Batman Begins?) and in comes a very strange choice to play Batman's number one nemesis.

For this week's column, I will take the opportunity to take a look at the career of a man who proved over a short time, he was one of the great young actors of our generation. This weekend will mark one of the final chances we get to see him in a new feature, so with no further ado, a look at the career of Heath Ledger...

Five Alternate Takes

5. 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU (1999)

Directed by Gil Junger
Cast: Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Why it's here: It's the world's introduction to Heath Ledger

There is a genre in the teen based movie subculture that puzzles me. It is movies such as She's the Man, 10 Things I Hate About You and O, all based on works by one William Shakespeare. Yep, each of those three teeny bopper movies were based on writings by the legendary man affectionately known as DeBarge. O was obviously based on Othello, She's the Man was an adaptation of Twelfth Night and 10 Things I Hate About You was based on The Taming of the Shrew. Alongside more obvious examples like Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet and Lloyd Kauffman's Tromeo and Juliet, I get the feeling young artists are trying their best to stand up and let us old farts know they are aware of who DeBarge is! And what would you expect with poetic lines like "I know a place where we can dance the whole night away / underneath the electric stars / Just come with me and we can shake your blues right away / You'll be doin' fine once the music starts." It's poetry. This Shakespeare adaptation centers on Julia Styles playing "The Shrew" and features Heath Ledger's breakthrough performance as the jerk who dates her for a quick payoff. I guess I can see the concept behind this theory. If you want kids to learn classic literature it might be better to dress it up in teeny bopper clothing, slap Julia Styles or Amanda Bynes up on the screen and trick them into watching it. It's easier than getting them to watch Mel Gibson or Kenneth Branagh talking like a weirdo while wearing tights. I mean, who would you rather watch getting down "to the beat of the rhythm of the night / danc(ing) until the morning light?"

"I hate the way you talk to me, and the way you cut your hair. I hate the way you drive my car. I hate it when you stare. I hate your big dumb combat boots, and the way you read my mind. I hate you so much it makes me sick; it even makes me rhyme. I hate it, I hate the way you're always right. I hate it when you lie. I hate it when you make me laugh, even worse when you make me cry. I hate it when you're not around, and the fact that you didn't call. But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you. Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all."

4. A KNIGHT'S TALE (2001)

Directed by Brian Helgeland
Cast: Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossaman, Paul Bettany, Alan Tudyk, Laura Fraser, Mark Addy, Rufus Sewell, James Purefoy
Why it's here: It's the movie that made Heath Ledger a star

A Knight's Tale is the movie where I first discovered Heath Ledger. I was excited about seeing this film because I was a fan of the director, Brian Helgeland, based on his work on the fantastic L.A. Confidential. I really wanted to see what he could do as a director, as I somehow missed Payback, his directorial debut. I was not disappointed. Heath Ledger was fine, although a little too much of a pretty boy for my tastes. However, Ledger was not the only person I discovered in A Knight's Tale. Two other fresh faces which would become perennial favorites of mine also popped up in supporting roles. First up is the very funny Alan Tudyk. This guy has comic timing to be rivaled, as evident in Dodgeball and Joss Whedon's Firefly. The second star to come out of this fun film is the wonderful Paul Bettany. I was won over following his first appearance in the movie, completely naked and standing in the middle of the road. When he introduced Ledger to the tournament using a Michael Buffer type introduction, it was instant love. He followed this movie up with the Academy Award nominated A Beautiful Mind and has turned in fantastic performances in almost everything since. Trivia: Who out there knew that it was Bettany who voiced Iron Man's computer system Jarvis? While Heath Ledger would continue his rise to superstardom and Brian Helgeland would slip out of the director's chair following the lackluster The Order (in a rare Heath Ledger misstep), it is the supporting cast that takes this already fun movie and raises it to "must watch" status.

"My lords, my ladies, and everybody else here not sitting on a cushion! Today... today, you find yourselves equals. For you are all equally blessed. For I have the pride, the privilege, nay, the pleasure of introducing to you to a knight, sired by knights. A knight who can trace his lineage back beyond Charlemagne. I first met him atop a mountain near Jerusalem, praying to God, asking his forgiveness for the Saracen blood spilt by his sword. Next, he amazed me still further in Italy when he saved a fatherless beauty from the would-be ravishing of her dreadful Turkish uncle. In Greece he spent a year in silence just to better understand the sound of a whisper. And so without further gilding the lily and with no more ado, I give to you, the seeker of serenity, the protector of Italian virginity, the enforcer of our Lord God, the one, the only, Sir Ulllrrrich von Lichtenstein! Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week."

3. MONSTER'S BALL (2001)

Directed by Mark Forster
Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry, Heath Ledger, Sean Combs
Why it's here: This is the moment I realized Ledger was not just another pretty face. The boy could act too.

I came for the torrid sex scene with Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton and left with complete shock and awe of the Heath Ledger subplot. The movie remains known for two primary reasons. The first is that infamous sex scene. It is rumored that Angela Bassett turned down the role of Leticia because she refused to play a prostitute. The sex scene was not really that titillating and was a little more than disturbing as the two wrestled around in a fit of passion that belies need over love. It is not really fair that this sex scene is what dominates the memories surrounding the film, because its deeper themes of racism and family are good enough without soiling them for one integral moment in the film. The second item this film remains known for is Halle Berry's Oscar win for Best Actress, the first by an African-American woman. Playing the race card to full effect in the ceremony, Berry did what diva's do best. She took the attention off the film the awards are supposed to be promoting and placed it clearly on her own shoulders. Then she followed up this groundbreaking moment with a payday in the X-Men franchise and genre flops with Catwoman and Gothika. If you ignore Berry's role in the movie, which I don't mind doing, you are left with a father/son story where Thornton plays an abused son who becomes an abusive father to Ledger. Thornton is a prison guard who is a racist who is also a borderline psychopath. Ledger plays the son with such a deft touch that, when his character finally implodes, it is a heartbreaking and completely devastating moment. It remains one of Ledger's strongest moments and proof that he was not just another pretty face.

"I've always believed that a portrait captures a person far better than a photograph. It truly takes a human being to really see a human being."

2. LORDS OF DOGTOWN (2005)

Directed by Catherine Hardwicke
Cast: Heath Ledger, Emile Hirsch, Rebecca De Mornay, Johnny Knoxville
Why it's here: It's where Heath lends his name to help get a smaller movie off the ground

Mitch Hedberg was one of the funniest comedians gracing stages across America when he passed away. It seems like we notice the greatness of a man after they leave us. Much like Heath Ledger, I suppose, although unlike Hedberg, Ledger was starting to receive praise and recognition when he died. Hedberg's memory lives on through a smaller number of fans and he should have been so much bigger than he was when his life ended. There is a dedication to Hedberg in this film, as he appears in it but died before the initial release. The movie is based on the Z-Boys, a group of skateboarders from Los Angeles, circa the 1970s who are credited with popularizing skateboarding and creating the subculture that exists today. Ledger plays the owner of a surf/skate shop who puts together a team of three young skateboarders to compete. The film would follow the three boys, one of which was portrayed by actor Emile Hirsch (Speed Racer, Into the Wild), through their rise and eventual fall. A companion work is the 2001 documentary Dogtown and the Z-Boys, in which Sean Penn narrates the true story of the skateboarders. According to the always reliable imdb, the real Skip Engblom wanted Heath Ledger to play him, so that's cool I guess.

"To the boy kings... You're all a bunch of filthy pillow biters!"

1. BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (2005)

Directed by Ang Lee
Cast: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Randy Quaid, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway
Why it's here: This is where Heath Ledger finally got recognition

Brokeback Mountain is many things. It is a love story, a tragedy and a ridiculed joke for homophobes everywhere. It is also a beautiful movie with a touching story, carried by two of the most promising young actors of their time. It would win an Academy Award for writing, directing and music and should have won the Best Picture award as well. I liked Crash, but it was nowhere near the movie that Brokeback Mountain was. Unfortunately, the widespread homophobia that ripples through the heartland of America (makes you wonder about the word heart actually being part of that description) will make the movie's title a punch line for tasteless jokes rather than a symbol of great American film. Heath Ledger plays a ranch hand who meets and develops feelings for a rodeo cowboy played by Jake Gyllenhaal. For those who have never seen the movie, it is not as much about the love affair between Ledger and Gyllenhaal's characters, but is about the unrequited love they know they will never be allowed to share. The two move on into relationships with women and only see each other on random fishing trips. As I mentioned, though, it is a tragedy. A story like this will always be a tragedy thanks to the backward thinking of today's society. However, taken as a snapshot, this is Heath Ledger's greatest and most heartbreaking performance. It is the best movie in his catalogue and is also proof he was one of the most talented actors of his generation.

"He always said he wanted his ashes scattered on Brokeback Mountain, but I wasn't sure where that was. I thought Brokeback Mountain might be around where he grew up. Knowing Jack, it was probably some pretend place, where bluebirds sing and there's a whiskey spring..."


I'll close with a few video interviews with Heath Ledger:








Up next week