Todd’s Movie Blog

Went and saw the midnight opening of The Dark Knight Thursday and it was awesome, everything that has been said about Heath Ledger’s performance is true.  It is an incredible piece of acting and I seriously doubt that anyone can now play the character.  Ledger makes Jack Nicholson’s earlier performance look as campy Caesar Romero’s from the old Adam West show.  I don’t know what inner demons he drew on to create The Joker but it is an intense performance that is both scary and funny, that actually makes you like and even admire him despite all the horrible and sadistic things he does.  The problem is that he is so good he overshadows the other  great performances in the film.  Christian Bale has cemented his place as Batman, like Ledger, no one else could ever play him now.  Gary Oldman is quietly effective as Lt./Commissioner Gordon, investing an underused character with intelligence and simple dignity.  Maggie Gyllenhaal gives dimension to a character who’s only purpose in the film is as a plot device.  Almost never mentioned is Aaron Eckhart’s equally effective performance as the tragically fated Harvey Dent/ Twoface, portraying a conflicted man who wants to do good but ends up becoming the very thing he had originally fought against.  Like Ledger he makes you understand and feel sympathy for a monster who does horrible things (as well as erasing the bad memory of Tommy Lee Jones’ less than stellar take on the character).