The Dark Knight: A First-Hand Account of The Joker

Posted by Tim Toomey (tim@flixelstudios.com) on December 20, 2007

This past summer I had the chance of a lifetime come across me almost immediately after starting out a new job right in the heart of downtown Chicago: being able to be an extra in a small romantic comedy called, “Rory’s First Kiss”. Unlike most of the rejects here on FSR I did go to film school and I have a degree in Film and Television. So, I’m kinda legit. I have been on sets before and I’ve made movies before, but this was going to be unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. I’d get to see a director at the top of his game, live, in person, and I’d get to satisfy the inner fanboy in me and get to be a part of the coolest movie that’s come to Chicago since Blues Brothers!

I’m not giving away any details, and I’m not going to spoil anything for anyone, but I’ll be the first to admit that when I found out Heath Ledger was cast as the Joker I almost chuckled to myself. Why not Sean Penn? Or Crispin Glover? Hell, even Mark Hamill. Surely they’d be creepier than Mr. Brokeback himself. What is Nolan thinking? He’d done such a great job re-kicking the franchise that quickly fizzled out after the first Batman and he was going to ruin it for everyone! The only thing I could gather from interviews with Mr. Nolan was that after Heath Ledger auditioned, he couldn’t picture anyone else playing the part. Heath was, as Nolan called it, “fearless.”

Part of the genius of the Batman Begins film was that I believed it. I totally and entirely believed that there could be a billionaire playboy out there who moonlights as a super hero using prototype military technology to fight the evil forces of the world! The batsuit, the weapons, and even the Tumbler came off as feasible. Not in a “Well, it’s a movie so I’ll let that totally unbelievable bullshit slide.” No, this was me thinking, “if I had the money I should buy a batsuit and fight bad guys just like Bruce Wayne.”

So how would the Nolan brothers pull this off? How could they make the Joker less of a cartoon character, and more of someone who I could see existing in real life? Surely Heath Ledger can’t be the answer? He wouldn’t have even made my top ten list for the joker, but I was COMPLETELY wrong.

Heath Ledger is the embodiment of evil. I have seen the Prologue at the Imax. I have seen the footage at Wizard World Chicago, and I have seen the magic actually happening in person. He is frightening, he is a psychopath, he doesn’t care about anything or anyone, and he looks like a deranged “bum clown” with a knife, and a crooked smile. Not only is Ledger completely unrecognizable, but even his voice, posture, and attitude are unrecognizable. How do you stop someone who has no permanent allegiances to anyone, has no regard for himself, or even for women and children? Most bad guys have a weakness whether it be their families, lust for power, money, but the Joker has no weaknesses in the way the character is presented to us in The Dark Knight. He’s only driven by madness and a desire to throw Gotham and Batman into chaos. He’ll pit his enemies against each other and cause problems for anyone who he thinks could cause more problems for the crime fighters of Gotham.

You won’t laugh at this Joker like you did to the original Joker. He’s not that crazy cooky guy who makes funny jokes and ruins paintings at museums. He’s the bully from elementary school who picks on you and laughs at you cause he’s found the one thing that bothers you. He’s the psychotic mobster who’d incite that awkward laughter just before he shoots you in the back and hurls your body into a trunk of a car. To him, humans are insects and we’re here only to serve his own deranged agenda. When you get the chance to see The Dark Knight this summer, not only will you see a blurry version of me in the background, but you’ll see Heath Ledger as the Joker—and you won’t even know it’s him.


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  • Bill Radde
    Well done ... at least you weren't conceited about it
  • Ok. I had doubts after watching the trailer, but now I'm back on the Ledger train. Thanks for restoring the faith!
  • Felipe Jorge
    I recently got into a playful argument about the "new" Batman franchise. To which one of my friends has said "Why redo The Joker, Batman (1989) was a classic.
    That sparked the argument into chaos when errupted with..."That classic sucks in today's time!"
    I'm looking forward to Nolans Joker and Ledgers performance of the menacing villain. The Joker has NO superpowers, NO bosses who he answers too, and NO one to trust but himself-that's what makes this person, this villain so realistic but not in a realistic way. Only in a DC universe can we have a man who dresses like a bat and scare the dickens out of his criminals.
    Nolan added realism into the batman franchise, this is HIS take on the dark knight. Please do not compare to Burtons batman which came out in 1989 which I'm sure was great but watch it again and you'll see how it doesn't even hold water.
  • Tim
    How can't you compare the two films? I didn't say that it was a bad film. I love the original Batman movie, it's the best of the Batmans before the "reset" so to speak. I'm just saying that to me personally the new Joker represents a more realistic joker which I would imagine appeals to a wider audience--especially to those hating on Heath Ledger which is to where this editorial is addressed.
  • Felipe J.
    OH! I was bad mouthing you review (which I thought was good)
    I was stating an argument that I had with one of my boys.

    It wasn't ment to coincide with your perspective.

    Although, I think Burton nailed the theme he was going for with BATMAN RETURNS. The penguin was the best villain and Catwoman was looking good (costume wise).
  • Tim,

    This is the best Chicago movie since FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF not Blues Brothers. You've been warned friend.
  • David
    Nolan did a fantastic job with Batman Begins. Everything about it was quality: the casting of great actors, the Tumbler, the plot, the realism, and the believability of the characters situated in a real world. I can't wait for Dark Knight to come out, and think that Ledger's Joker will become the preferred version over Nicholson's past performance.
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