[Written for the CineTV contest "Favourite Film Villain".]
Heath Ledger as Joker of The Dark Knight movie. Source
Ask me about what’s the most iconic antagonist in cinema and immediately the image of Joker in my mind pops up. Not some abstract, personal picture of the infamous villain, but that of Heath Ledger’s Joker; reportedly created in six weeks in a hotel room in London by help of experimenting, research and diary writing. I don’t regard that image as my favorite in any way, nor do I think it’s the most terrifying villain I could think of; there is simply no specific reason why the word ‘villain’ has such strong associations with Joker in my subconscious. In a way it coincides with how the late actor himself was telling why he thought Joker was so frightening: because of the character’s purposelessness; because it was not out for anything and couldn’t be understood:
But why Ledger?
I suppose it’s because Ledger’s Joker isn’t that cartoonish. Ever since the multiple award winning role had been seen on screens, big and small all over the world, there is a well known difference between the Joker who is a cartoonish villain, a goofy prankster with sadistic sense of humor; and the psychopath of Heath Ledger, who is having fun wearing the make-up of a cartoonish villain. At least that’s how I see it.
Noughties was the decade when CGI and computer power could finally give something realistic to filmmakers with considerable budget in their hands, and hence the comics and animation could suddenly translate into something a lot more realistic on screen than ever before. This realism naturally called for well known comic characters to be reinvented, and, as the actor himself had mentioned, “there was a room for a new version of Joker” in Christopher Nolan’s movie. In my opinion, Heath Ledger’s Joker is the most realistic one out there.
The vanity of a psychopath aside, the most disturbing part about Ledger’s Joker for me was perhaps his habit of constantly licking his lips. Until I saw a video of someone from the film crew explaining that it started more by an accident than actual intention, in my mind it spoke about a childhood trauma the character was carrying with him throughout his life; a constant memory of when he’d been given the so called Glasgow smile. Although later on I’d find out the explanation was a lot simpler – Heath Ledger not wanting to fix the feathering of prosthetics of lips on set, the imagined reason had taken place in my mind profoundly by then. I’m guessing you’d agree; a thought of a fate like that is horrifying.
There is little more to add here, I think. The way Joker is dressed is well known. It is intentionally odd with the mix of purple and green color tones, which altogether screams “eccentric!” And, of course, the element of wild card, signalling the unpredictability of the character. Apparently Heath Ledger’s inspirations for developing his version of the well known comic villain were A Clockwork Orange novel by Anthony Burgess, the art of Francis Bacon as well as few punk rock musicians. I personally never saw any of that in his Joker. I see that villain as a spoiled kid who views the world as his playground. Batman says Joker is ugly inside, but I struggle to imagine a chaos having a shape – pleasant or ugly, or any other. The guy wants power and figures the wild card grants it. I think, such a choice, reasoning and behavior by someone who possesses both, an intellect and imagination, makes for a formidable and truly dangerous villain. Realizing this, wanting something like crossing paths with a character like that would, in my view, equal to a suicide attempt. Especially knowing that such a character views everyone as simply expendable, regardless of what side they take or don’t take. With that said, the world has better options to offer. The sky is the limit.
Peer Ynt
