I'm not much of a superhero buff, much less a fan of superhero movies (though Ironman was surprisingly quite good) but I am an admirer of Heath Ledger's work and loved him in "Brokeback Mountain" -- I thought he was brave to take up a role that was viewed as so risky about it dealt with a taboo issue, and play it in such a manner that any one could relate to his character's tortured feelings of love. But, several of my guy friends insisted that I check it out, though, and I think I will, not only because it seems to be getting rave reviews, but also because it's the last work of Ledger's that I will be able to see.
You see, my generation grew-up with Heath Ledger. We aged with him. We were cheering for him in his first American movie, "10 Things I Hate About You", as he repeadtedly tried to woo Julia Stiles and again in "A Knight's Tale" when he was trying to prove his worth not only to society, but to himself. Sure, the same critics that praise him "Dark Knight" bashed him then because to them, he was playing typecast roles in movies aimed towards the pre-teen and teenage audience. But, let me tell you, those pre-teens and teenagers loved him and appreciated the dedication with which he played those characters that we were so invested in for that mere hour-and-a-half. I should know, because I was one of them.
So, I think it's safe to say that unless you belong to my generation, you won't be able to completely understand the gravity of the loss we will feel as we walk out of the movie theater after seeing Ledger in his last, complete performance because you simply did not see him as we did.
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