Saw The Dark Knight this past Friday with Big Bro. I'd just watched The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance with my dad earlier that evening (
( Read more... )
I haven't seen The Dark Knight yet, but judging from the scores and scores of blindingly positive reviews I have to say I have a Very Bad Feeling about it, and I remember seeing the previews and thinking "this will take itself too seriously."
I also remember realizing that Heath Ledger's last role would be in a Batman movie and wanting to scream FUCK YOU WORLD because the most incredibly tragic thing about Heath Ledger is that he is a better actor than any of his movies. Because that man was in some awful, awfully mediocre movies and whenever I watch them all I can think is "what the hell are you doing here" because it's totally disorienting. And while Brokeback Mountain was a good movie, it felt in many ways like an exercise in restraint.
So the fact that this man who represents to me a mastery of subtle emotions and character complexity would be playing the fucking Joker it was like aghhhh what the hell oh cinema deities why are you never merciful >>
(also, am I the only person who thought that depp's sparrow was nothing special? like, it was good. but the oscar nomination threw me for a bit.)
...but I'm still going to see The Dark Knight because I love Maggie Gyllenhaal.
It does take itself way too seriously. If I may spoil a bit of Hellboy for you - no director would have Batman and Alfred get into a drunken duet of a Barry Manilow hit midway through the film (singing perfectly in-character, by the way). No, we need Angst, we need Darkness and Fake-Depth.
The cinema gods are not merciful. Because I guess it's trying to combine the storytelling instinct with the coldest blood of economics and marketing, and throw in Sturgeon's Law, and the really great stuff falls by the wayside. Reportedly, Jack Nicholson approached Ledger when he agreed to play the Joker and warned him, "You gotta be careful when you're playing the Joker. That role can take over your life. It nearly killed me."
And Academy Award nominations and awards have an awful tendency to be super symbolic, as opposed to recognizing performances. Therefore, a symbolic acknowledgment of comedy -- well, it's something.
By the way, you and I should get together sometime this summer.
I also remember realizing that Heath Ledger's last role would be in a Batman movie and wanting to scream FUCK YOU WORLD because the most incredibly tragic thing about Heath Ledger is that he is a better actor than any of his movies. Because that man was in some awful, awfully mediocre movies and whenever I watch them all I can think is "what the hell are you doing here" because it's totally disorienting. And while Brokeback Mountain was a good movie, it felt in many ways like an exercise in restraint.
So the fact that this man who represents to me a mastery of subtle emotions and character complexity would be playing the fucking Joker it was like aghhhh what the hell oh cinema deities why are you never merciful >>
(also, am I the only person who thought that depp's sparrow was nothing special? like, it was good. but the oscar nomination threw me for a bit.)
...but I'm still going to see The Dark Knight because I love Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Reply
The cinema gods are not merciful. Because I guess it's trying to combine the storytelling instinct with the coldest blood of economics and marketing, and throw in Sturgeon's Law, and the really great stuff falls by the wayside.
Reportedly, Jack Nicholson approached Ledger when he agreed to play the Joker and warned him, "You gotta be careful when you're playing the Joker. That role can take over your life. It nearly killed me."
And Academy Award nominations and awards have an awful tendency to be super symbolic, as opposed to recognizing performances. Therefore, a symbolic acknowledgment of comedy -- well, it's something.
By the way, you and I should get together sometime this summer.
Reply
Leave a comment