Heath Ledger RIP
Matthew d'Ancona 9:13am
“Why so serious?” say the teaser posters for the forthcoming Batman movie, The Dark Knight. This slogan acquired a bleak subtext last night when 28-year-old Heath Ledger – who plays the Joker in the new film – was found dead in his New York apartment, apparently as the result of a drug overdose (the autopsy is to be held today). As anyone who has seen Monster’s Ball or Brokeback Mountain can attest, Ledger was a hugely talented actor whose troubled private life seems to have overwhelmed him. But, in one of the darkly ironic tricks that Hollywood plays, his death will ensure that his performance as the Joker is watched with completely different eyes as an artistic suicide note, the psychotic display of a disintegrating man who is only pretending to be pretending. The truth, as ever, is probably much more pedestrian: Ledger’s demise may turn out to have had more to do with Thoreau’s “quiet desperation” than with grand gesture. But – accidentally, miserably – he has just bought a place in cinema legend.
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Punishment of Luxury
January 24th, 2008 7:31amIt's a shame of course but I'm not sure about your hugely talented tag, he was great in one film Brokeback Mountain which I think can be put down to influence of the truly talented director Ang Lee. For a more balanced view of his career have a look at A Knight Tales acted off the screen by Paul Bettany or the risible Ned Kelly which he made with his fellow Australian Gregor Jordan. He did mange to look better than Orlando Bland(not hard) in that but hugely talented he was not. I do hear good thinks about Dark Knight & I'm looking forward to seeing it pity poor Terry Gilliam he never gets any luck halfway through shooting The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus & his star kills himself .
Punishment of Luxury
January 24th, 2008 10:33amOh & the remake of the Four Feather truly awful directed Shekhar Kapur The man who dropped The I may have the body of a woman speech at Tilbury from his version of Elizabeth & doomed the film. Lets not go over the top he was OK not truly great. Marlon Brando truly great.
Fidel
January 24th, 2008 3:20pmYou people are pathetic, i would like to see you talentless underachieving couch potatoes attempt to reach quarter of the dizzying Heights Heath Ledger achieved in his career.Have some respect you simpleton pedestrians.
Punishment of Luxury
January 24th, 2008 4:16pmC,mon Fidel lets not get so much of a head of steam "dizzying heights" he made one good film Brokeback Mountain Yeah I'm sorry he's dead but I didn't know him personally I find all this outpouring of grief for strangers frankly weird & it rather does look like it was self inflicted.
shaz
January 25th, 2008 5:46pmI can't believe that anyone is slagging off Heath edger, wether you rate him as an actor or not, he do's not deserve the ridicule he is getting from small minded idiots.
Alyson
January 25th, 2008 10:31pmDon't speak ill of the dead
Alyson
January 25th, 2008 10:31pmDon't speak ill of the dead
Caroline
January 26th, 2008 1:35pmHeath was a fantastic actor in the making, a lot of his talent was yet 2 be shown 2 the world. rip, he lives on in his beautiful daughter
Gitta
January 26th, 2008 6:28pmA young man en route to reaching great heights taken far too early. A brilliant talent in the making. I object to any negative outpouring after the event.
Beth
January 26th, 2008 7:13pmi am very sorry to hear about Heath he was a good actor but i hope that this shows people what drugs can do and he is not the one suffering his poor little daughter is the one.
ellen
January 26th, 2008 8:12pmheath ledger was a great actor and its so sad that he has died so young. rip
sam jackson
January 26th, 2008 10:36pma true great. he made me believe
nicky
January 27th, 2008 11:38ami loved heath me had sooo much talent what a shame he had to die sooo young (28)
xnicolax
January 27th, 2008 11:45amhe was such a great actor and not only a great actor but such a kind and loving man... what a shame he had to die sooo young (28)R.I.P heath bi the way it was an acccidental death xxxxxxx
Natasha Hewitt
January 28th, 2008 9:47amyou will be truly missed Heath, although i never knew you personally, i am sure you brought a lot of happiness to many people around you. Maybe you can be at peace in death that you didnt seem to be in the last part of your life. A tragedy and a great loss. Forever remembered xx
Punishment of Luxury
January 28th, 2008 1:13pmGet a grip you lot a stranger dies & out come the hankies do any you know what he was really like his performances on screen were an act he's an actor, if he was so wonderful why did Michelle leave him? He was a moderate actor who will gain immortality due the real genius of Ang Lee & please tell me what other truly great film was he in or part did he play apart from Brokeback Mountain? Xnicolax nobody kills themselves by accident with sleeping pills he was either a selfish fool who took his own life or a weak drug abuser who preferred retreating into drugs rather than confronting life. One or the other.
Diana
January 28th, 2008 4:51pmR.I.P. Health. You are wonderful. have not seen any comments from Jake Gyllenhaal.??? D
Jacqui S
January 28th, 2008 5:05pmR.I.P Heath Ledger. It was not your time. My thots are with his family and friends. xxXxx
James Strong
January 29th, 2008 2:43amDoes anyone else have any thoughts about the quality of writing shown in these comments? The style is very different from that seen on nearly every other thread here. Is a new style of writng emerging that is acceptable? Or are these commenters unaware of the conventions of written English? Or are they aware of them but just too lazy to observe them?
Ruddigore Topsider
January 29th, 2008 1:18pmIf this thread could be wrestled from the strangle-hold of his mostly-female memorialists and the effortful iconoclasts, and moved to a discussion of his merits, I would like to add that I thought he was actually rather good in *Ten things I hate about you*, opposite Julia Stiles. In fact, it's an under-rated film. But, apart from that and *Brokeback*, I agree it's a tough job showing he was shaping up to be a 'great'.
Paul P
January 30th, 2008 10:54pmHeath Ledger? Name meant nothing to me, then someone mentioned he was the gay cowboy. Very sad for his family but it's not as if a real great died.
Batman
January 31st, 2008 7:17amHeath Ledger was a very reasonable actor, but I think the best thing about him was simply his reserved and engaging manner. The film I most enjoy is, I think, his debut - "Two Hands", an Australian crime film.
Zardoz
January 31st, 2008 8:50amHeath who? I feel like the High Court Judge who had to ask his clerk who The Beatles were. There are hundreds of living not very good actors (eg. Mel Gibson) who deserve a blast from the paying public so why not leave the dead alone. I bet POL wouldn't be so keen to rubbish one of the scientologists - They really do know where you live POL!
Punishment of Luxury
January 31st, 2008 10:51amZardoz have a look at this http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=JCbKv9yiLiQ