The BRITISH filmmaker Christopher Nolan has the mien of a passionate literature professor (passionate, that is, in the British sense of the term) and, last December, he spoke about the young actor Heath Ledger as if he were the most fascinating manuscript to cross his desk in years. "The bold decisions that Heath has made with this performance are fascinating to watch," said Nolan, who had one hand perched on his hip and the other holding a curled finger to his chin. "I think he's done something quite exceptional."
Nolan was in Los Angeles that evening to screen some early completed footage from "The Dark Knight," the second film in his reboot of the Batman mythos, which has Ledger in the role of the Joker. In super-hero cinema, the difference between a good film and a great film is the villain, not the hero, and it's telling that the six-minute sequence that Nolan brought with him did not include a single solitary frame of the franchise's caped crusader, who is again played by the lean and lupine Christian Bale. The screening audience of industry types and journalists were agog over Ledger's wicked and scabby character and, in the cocktail lounge after, Nolan was all smiles. "I really cannot wait," the filmmaker said, "for everyone to see the finished product."
The world will see that product July 18, when "The Dark Knight" opens across the U.S., but Ledger, of course, will not be around to enjoy it. The 28-year-old Aussie and his promising career will be remembered as an unfinished novel. Seven weeks to the day after that screening in Los Angeles, Ledger was found dead in his second-floor loft in New York City. Half a dozen different prescription drugs were found in his system, and an accidental overdose was the determined cause of death.
For Nolan and the cast of "The Dark Knight," the death was a bruising shock and, in the months that followed, an awkward professional challenge. A summer movie with a budget of $180 million demands relentless pre-release promotion, but, especially with the always-proper Nolan at the fore, no one in this production wanted to make a crass or maudlin misstep. Nolan stepped forward to write an appreciation of Ledger for Newsweek, and not only was it thoughtful (Nolan on Ledger's short films: "Their exuberance made me feel jaded and leaden. I've never felt as old as I did watching Heath explore his talents."), the essay never once mentioned the film's release date. The cast picked up on the message.
"To have this film be successful and to have people see Heath's great work in it -- to appropriately honor that performance by bringing the film to the audience -- that became the goal for Chris and everyone involved," said Aaron Eckhart, who portrays Harvey "Two-Face" Dent, another grotesque madman who fights Batman for the soul of Gotham City. "Chris gave us a set where the actors felt very secure, they felt they could take risks. And Chris has continued to protect Heath and his performance."
In mid-May, at the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, Nolan was in the late stages of post-production on "The Dark Knight" and the marathon hours were taking their toll. There was stubble on his chin and half-circles under his eyes. "Come on in," he told his visitor, "but I must warn you it's quite loud inside. I mean, really loud." In the mixing suite, Nolan joined sound editors Lora Hirschberg and Gary Rizzo, who were laboring over a bank of control boards. Up on a huge screen in front of them was a frozen image of Ledger, a rocket-launcher in his hand and an expression of callous menace on his face.
Nolan ran through the scene a dozen times and pulled apart the barrage of different sounds, homing in on what he disliked ("Why am I hearing an air brake there? The truck is speeding up, that's a disconnect.") and what he needed ("In the first film, the roar of the Batmobile that we hear when the headlights first go on; let's go back and get that and use it right here."). The director stretched his neck and exhaled. "OK, we're getting there."
Bigger is better
This IS clearly the season -- and the decade, really -- for filmmakers who understand the calculus of explosions and the proper lighting of bulging biceps; Hollywood has been throwing larger-than-life heroes at the cineplex at a dizzying rate, with Iron Man, Indiana Jones, the Hulk, Hancock and Hellboy leading the florid parade. But there is within "The Dark Knight" a level of subversive menace and ambition that sets it apart from the popcorn slugfests, although it may in fact be too unsettling to reach the $300-million box-office numbers of the comparatively sunny exploits of "Iron Man." "The Dark Knight" is many things, but it is not the feel-good movie of the summer.
