By all accounts, Heath Ledger was a pretty good actor.
But …
Maybe it’s just me, but does anyone else think that the endless and quite hysterical hype that has accompanied his performance as The Joker in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” is a lorry load of utter bollocks?
Sure, Ledger’s performance was a good one – dark, creepy and committed, it avoided lurching into comic book cliché and caricature – but, if one were to buy the buzz, one would think that this one performance by this one actor reinvented the art of acting in much the same way as the printing press reinvented the book.
And that, if Ledger does not win a Golden Globe, or an Oscar, there will be blood on the streets, as a grave injustice has been inflicted upon the decent folk of the commonweal.
What bullshit.
Here’s two performances that, in my opinion at least, are lightning streaks ahead of Ledger’s Joker …
Ted Levine as Buffalo Bill in “Silence of the Lambs” – Levine was nominated for nothing in the role, overshadowed by Anthony Hopkins’ Lecter, yet it is his (very brave) performance that ratchets the creep factor up to 12 and keeps the tale rooted in some semblance of reality, unlike Hopkins’ fantasy super serial-killer.
Ben Kingsley as Don Logan in “Sexy Beast” – Nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe as supporting actor.
Won neither.
I mean, really … Fuck. Off.
I‘d hazard a bet that Kingsley’s Logan could wipe the grin off Ledger’s Joker with naught but his little pinkie, a puff of smoke and a damp Chux …
From 2000, Ben Kingsley “Sexy Beast” (Acting Lessons 101)
But …
Maybe it’s just me, but does anyone else think that the endless and quite hysterical hype that has accompanied his performance as The Joker in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” is a lorry load of utter bollocks?
Sure, Ledger’s performance was a good one – dark, creepy and committed, it avoided lurching into comic book cliché and caricature – but, if one were to buy the buzz, one would think that this one performance by this one actor reinvented the art of acting in much the same way as the printing press reinvented the book.
And that, if Ledger does not win a Golden Globe, or an Oscar, there will be blood on the streets, as a grave injustice has been inflicted upon the decent folk of the commonweal.
What bullshit.
Here’s two performances that, in my opinion at least, are lightning streaks ahead of Ledger’s Joker …
Ted Levine as Buffalo Bill in “Silence of the Lambs” – Levine was nominated for nothing in the role, overshadowed by Anthony Hopkins’ Lecter, yet it is his (very brave) performance that ratchets the creep factor up to 12 and keeps the tale rooted in some semblance of reality, unlike Hopkins’ fantasy super serial-killer.
Ben Kingsley as Don Logan in “Sexy Beast” – Nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe as supporting actor.
Won neither.
I mean, really … Fuck. Off.
I‘d hazard a bet that Kingsley’s Logan could wipe the grin off Ledger’s Joker with naught but his little pinkie, a puff of smoke and a damp Chux …
From 2000, Ben Kingsley “Sexy Beast” (Acting Lessons 101)
1 comment:
For what it's worth, I'm with you and the Ed on this one.
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