Heath Heath Heath

[Mikaela]

Mikaela - regarding the violence of TDK.  Did you see Batman Begins?  How was that for you?  What about Point Break?  (old Keanu Reeves/Patrick Swayze movie - honestly, i just asked that b/c of the masked robbers scene)  I am anticipating that TDK will be violent, but not gory.  How do you want us to let you know without giving away spoilers?  (trying to be helpful, not nosey or pushy or anything)

I'm so sorry I didn't respond to this sooner, and here you were being extra special helpful and everything!    

I have seen Batman Begins, but only on DVD, and I found it boring and predictable. It didn't leave me sleepness, at least not when seen in that small format. I haven't seen Point Break.

Because I think they contain the kind of scenes I try to avoid, I've stayed away from (among others) Apocalypto, Natural Born Killers, American Psycho, Kill Bill, Passion of the Christ, Funny Games, and all the Hannibal Lechter movies except Silence of the Lambs. And that one *did* give me nightmares. Especially the scene with those guards that Lecther slaughters so inventively when he escapes.

And I believe if somebody had made me watch any of the "Hostel" or "Saw" movies I'd probably have never been able to sleep again in my life.    

I suppose if I'm to summarize therefore what I'd sincerely like to avoid is "inventive" graphic violence that contains elements of sadism, torture and intentional cruelty, particularly when dwelling on and coupled with powerlessness and protracted fear, anguish and/or physical or mental pain for the victim(s). Long suspenseful passages where it's being indicated that such things are about to happen are not my cup of tea, either. Neither are particularly graphic scenes of wholesale slaughter and gore that dwell on the details of knives, other scary-looking weapons, wounds, deaths and bloodletting complete with panic, screaming, etc etc.

And if any of the above is included purely for entertainment value, without any underlying more or less "worthy" or decent message or point to is, it's even worse.

So.... if any of this turns out to fit TDK, I'd sincerely appreciate getting an advance warning. Without being todl details of single scenes, if at all possible. Hope that was sufficient.

[BelAir]

#1000 - one of my most fave pics ever...

(back in a sec Mikaela re: violence)

[MilAn]

my guess is she is referring to when he was acting... sort of like "he came alive as his character" rather than a phrase of Mikaela's  "just phoning it in"...

make more sense that way maybe??

Yes, maybe that's what she meant!

[Mikaela]

Maggie G. :
Sorry for me maybe not understanding properly, but does she say he stayed in character the whole time? Didn't his other co-stars say this wasn't the case at all. Please don't shoot if i misunderstood what she said.

It's a good question, I think! I think she meant what BelAir indicated in the reply above. Also, her statement was made in the context of the feeling that the viewer gets when watching the Joker, perhaps just as much as what Heath was up to when acting the scenes. In any case, I am confident I've read several quotes from co-actors who say Heath would remain focused on the role, but never be lost in the character between takes. I completely belive them in that.

The full quote from USAToday that I took the above passage from, is as follows. It makes her context clearer:

"Gyllenhaal recently saw Dark Knight for the first time, but she isn't one to share any intimate memories of working with Ledger and has been critical of the circus-like coverage of his death and funeral. But she does say that watching him on screen left her "really emotional."

"In the middle," she says, "you sort of get lost in him being the Joker. … I felt like someone could hate this or love this, or think it's a wrong choice or a right choice, but really there's no way to qualify it. Sometimes in my work, you're just alive and being the person you're playing. It's unusual. It's difficult to get there. And I think Heath did. Nothing Heath could do was wrong."

[MilAn]

Thanks for posting this. This new quote confuses me even more. No offence to Maggie, but i much prefer the things his other co-stars said about him, especially Gary Oldman, you can tell he really liked and respected Heath.

[BelAir]

I'm so sorry I didn't respond to this sooner, and here you were being extra special helpful and everything!    

I have seen Batman Begins, but only on DVD, and I found it boring and predictable. It didn't leave me sleepness, at least not when seen in that small format. I haven't seen Point Break.

Because I think they contain the kind of scenes I try to avoid, I've stayed away from (among others) Apocalypto, Natural Born Killers, American Psycho, Kill Bill, Passion of the Christ, Funny Games, and all the Hannibal Lechter movies except Silence of the Lambs. And that one *did* give me nightmares. Especially the scene with those guards that Lecther slaughters so inventively when he escapes.

And I believe if somebody had made me watch any of the "Hostel" or "Saw" movies I'd probably have never been able to sleep again in my life.    

I suppose if I'm to summarize therefore what I'd sincerely like to avoid is "inventive" graphic violence that contains elements of sadism, torture and intentional cruelty, particularly when dwelling on and coupled with powerlessness and protracted fear, anguish and/or physical or mental pain for the victim(s). Long suspenseful passages where it's being indicated that such things are about to happen are not my cup of tea, either. Neither are particularly graphic scenes of wholesale slaughter and gore that dwell on the details of knives, other scary-looking weapons, wounds, deaths and bloodletting complete with panic, screaming, etc etc.

And if any of the above is included purely for entertainment value, without any underlying more or less "worthy" or decent message or point to is, it's even worse.

So.... if any of this turns out to fit TDK, I'd sincerely appreciate getting an advance warning. Without being todl details of single scenes, if at all possible. Hope that was sufficient.

Okay, Mikaela, thanks for all of that.  I think you are right to be worried, given what you said above and the various reviews.  Well, I am not one for on screen gore, but it does not give me nightmares.  Sometimes bad dreams or poor sleeping, yes, but not true nightmares.

A friend of mine at work (knowing my Heathenite status) asked me if I was worried or nervous about seeing The Dark Knight.  And I told her, no, not really, because I know for a fact that he's NOT the Joker, if that makes any sense.  Now, I may very well have some emotional response to seeing just new images of Heath (regardless of Joker status) - sort of happened to me when I watched The Order recently. 

My point, sounds like for you it really doesn't have much to do with Heath or The Joker per se, just the overall level of violence/darkness...  I think we will be able to advise you, and worse (worst?) case scenario, I bet we could all work together to figure out bits that you could watch...

How about the Tom Hanks/Paul Newman movie where Tom Hanks plays a mobster on the run with his son?  Road to Perdition I think is its name (sort of dark, violent, but not gory, imo).  And the Bourne trilogy movies? (they're very violent, but not horribly dark, imo)

(fwiw, I also avoid Hostel and Saw type movies... and if I do end up watching them, for whatever reason, only do so in the middle of the afternoon.) 

well, with any luck, I'll have seen TDK by this time next week...

[mariez]

The link to this article in "LA Weekly" and accompanying pictures popped up on my f-list yesterday.  A really terrific article.  After reading it, this small quote stands out in my mind:  "....So much to miss.”   Yep.  An incalculable loss in countless ways.  I'm glad I read it, but I have to admit it did cause another wave of sadness that hasn't gone away yet.

http://www.laweekly.com/film+tv/film/heath-ledgers-final-days-among-the-masses/19241/?page=1

I'll post the link in the Remembrance Forum, too.

Marie

[BelAir]

The link to this article in "LA Weekly" and accompanying pictures popped up on my f-list yesterday.  A really terrific article.  After reading it, this small quote stands out in my mind:  "....So much to miss.”   Yep.  An incalculable loss in countless ways.  I'm glad I read it, but I have to admit it did cause another wave of sadness that hasn't gone away yet.

http://www.laweekly.com/film+tv/film/heath-ledgers-final-days-among-the-masses/19241/?page=1

I'll post the link in the Remembrance Forum, too.

Marie

i love the top pic.  thanks for the article marie (off to read now).

[BelAir]

a few more pics from the article

[Fran]

Maggie G. :
Sorry for me maybe not understanding properly, but does she say he stayed in character the whole time? Didn't his other co-stars say this wasn't the case at all. Please don't shoot if i misunderstood what she said.

Maybe MG meant that Heath was able to bring the character to life...  or that when he was acting on set, it wasn't as if he was acting, that the director didn't have to tell him what to do --  the mannerisms, gestures, etc. -- that Heath just knew what to do, that while on set he had become the character.  Which sounds pretty amazing, especially since he's playing a fictional character in a super-hero movie.