Heath Ledger

I have been a fan of his for nearly 10 years. I saw him first in A Knight's Tale, and then in Monsters Ball. The Patriot was amazing and by far Heath's best performance (that is, until The Dark Knight). It seemed like even in movies that weren't that great (or could even be classified as bad), Heath gave stellar performances. I did see Brokeback Mountain, though I was uneasy with the content. I am glad I rented it....he gave a fantastic performance (I did fast forward through stuff I really didn't care to watch). I was really looking forward to seeing him in The Dark Knight. If the past was any indication, Heath only got better with each role he played, so it would be a good one. He was on his way to being one of the best actors around.

Then, on January 22, 2008, the news came that he had overdosed and died at the age of 28. It struck me hard. I am super sensitive anyway (come on, I cry at commercials), but I felt actual grief when he passed away, as if I knew him. I grieved for him, his family, his daughter. It was a terrible loss for everyone. Especially for his daughter and family, but also for his fans, who would never again see him bring a character to life in the way only he could. There were still two unreleased movies that he filmed--The Dark Knight, where he gave the most extraordinary performance of his career as The Joker; and then The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. He didn't even complete filming in that movie--3 other actors filled in the remaining portions. I was hesitant about that film because it was by Terry Gilliam who had not done much except disappoint me with past efforts (The Brothers Grimm being one of those). I decided to wait till it was available on DVD.

It arrived in the mail yesterday from Netflix and we watched it. While the movie itself wasn't great, Heath pulled off his usual outstanding performance. However, I had this eerie feeling the entire time I was watching it. The premise of the movie was spooky--I can see how it would have created some demons that Heath might have struggled with while filming; why he chose to medicate himself into a stupor, and eventually into death. Ominous parallels between his life and the movie. Sad ending for Heath in both cases.....he is missed.