Heath Ledger: The Creepiest Joker Performance Ever?

I think, when looking at films that have gained so much worldwide recognition and success, in this case, Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, it is interesting to ask ourselves why the film has gained legendary status as far as adaptations go, and aside from the fact that it is an overall kick-ass action film, I believe the film owes it's success to Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker.

When talking about an adapted character, we can not give full credit to the creators of the film for having a brilliantly characterised, evil villain. We have to give a lot of the respect in that sense to DC comics and the creators of the original Batman graphic novels. We can, however, give masses of respect to both Christopher Nolan and Heath Ledger for managing to capture these characteristics and create a cinematic version of the 2D villain absolutely incredibly. This post is going to discuss some of the reasons why I think Nolan and Ledger collectively created one of the most standout villains of all time, one that transcends the graphic novel version of the character and all other adaptations, in this 2008 feature film.

When one first thinks of the Joker, they think of the costume. Nolan gives the Joker a powdered white face, black eyes and the blood red paint over his scars, playing with the idea of the Joker's emotions and constantly giving him a smile, making it harder for the audience to decipher his real emotions. The purple suit and green waistcoat makes the character's roots of being in a graphic novel come to life. These colours which are not often used in formal wear give the Joker a standout image, however he shows in the film that when he wants to be hidden, he can be.

This links in with the fact that the Joker seems to be able to control everything thats happening around him, giving him a God-like status in the film. Even when he is falling to what he thinks is his death, he is violently laughing, almost as if he knows that his evil transcends to more than his physical being, that he has let it be known that true evil does exist, and this is something that haunts the audience for much longer than the two hour running time of the film. His appearance in constant full dress and make-up shows that he is not afraid of being visible when committing his crimes. He is of a higher power than anyone else in Gotham City, arguably even Batman who needs assistance in defeating the Joker. The fact that he can take the makeup off and blend into everyday citizenship, which we see in the attempted assassination of the mayor, is something that also puts fear into the hearts of the audience members, however the Joker prefers to commit his acts of crime against the city in full costume and makeup, flaunting his evil side, showing how proud of it he is.

Regarding how the film, under the direction of Christopher Nolan, managed to help create the aura of mystery and deviousness around the Joker, we can take a look at the perspective that the camera chooses to take. For the most part, we are in the perspective of the 'good' side of the two, Batman and the police, and therefore we see how easily the Joker can evade the Police's tricks and the fact that he is presented as being more intelligent than even the most intelligent police detective leaves us feeling uneasy. His tricks shock and surprise us just as much as they shock and surprise the police force, with the phone in the prisoner's stomach, the hostages disguised as his companions and so on. This lack of knowledge of the Joker's next move prevents us from hearing his motives, if there is any at all, creating a monster trapped inside of a human body.

The final closing point that I think adds dramatically to the legendary status of the Joker is that in the film we see no full closure for the character. The last shot we see of him is dangling from a building, with Batman choosing not to kill him and suggesting that he will be put in a padded cell. We never see a definite ending for the character of the Joker, which is just a small factor that adds to the legacy of his character and the fear of the audience.

Heath Ledger's astonishing performance as the Joker and the uneasiness that creeps its way onto the audience as they watch it is often attributed with his early death just before the release of the film. Although there is no counter argument that this definitely adds a certain eeriness to the role, the performance, in my eyes, is strong enough to stand alone, disregarding that fact. I would love to watch the film with someone who was not aware of Ledger's death after this film and question them on the role, perhaps I will do that some time soon. All in all, this post is just an appreciation of the collaboration between Christopher Nolan and Heath Ledger in this film that is arguably the best superhero adaptation to date.