I recently sat down and rewatched The Dark Knight
for what seemed like the 500th time.
But this time, I did so with a purpose.
I was looking for a moment-- some call it an Oscar moment--
the moment where Heath Ledger transcends the character
of the Joker into something beyond anything
else any other actor could, and had, accomplished that year.
And I got to this moment where Joker is being
interrogated at Gotham PD.
And two things hit me.
The first was exactly what I was hoping
for, it was this moment I thought to myself, good god,
he is the Joker.
But I also couldn't shake the feeling
that I had just watched this very scene here.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
- OK, I'm-- yeah I'm sorry.
[END PLAYBACK]
That these two scenes accomplished
nearly the same things for the character and the actor, see,
this, in my opinion, is an Oscar-winning Joker scene,
and this, in the Academy's opinion, is as well.
But the question is, well, why?
How?
So let's break down the anatomy of these scenes.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
- Don't talk like one of them, you're not,
even if you'd like to be.
[END PLAYBACK]
I think it starts with motivation.
Why are these characters here?
These two scenes share a lot of parallels in that regard.
Arthur finds himself face to face with someone
he believes completes him in his own twisted way.
He believes he's face to face with a man he once
wanted to be.
In a way, Murray's the thing he needed to feel whole.
He needs the recognition.
And he's here by choice.
He's here to make himself heard, seen.
It's a moment of misdirection for the audience itself,
but we'll come back to that.
This is the moment that the movie completes its journey.
Arthur is ready to end it all.
A life is on the line.
What we don't know is one of two has to go,
whereas the Joker is facing a similar reality as he says--
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
- I don't want to kill you.
What would I do without you?
Go back to ripping off mob dealers?
No, no.
No.
No, you-- you complete me.
[END PLAYBACK]
Batman is his motivation.
Batman completes the Joker.
He's the sole foundation of his anarchy.
And he's here to, in an almost climactic way,
to make his point to the Bat.
And he's also here by choice.
And here too is a climactic moment
with two lives on the line, again, one has to go.
It's also-- which, again, we'll come back to--
is a moment of manipulation, as is Arthur's.
We don't know what he does--
that he wanted to be caught.
And throughout these two scenes, both Joaquin and Heath
articulate a single feeling--
control.
This scene is Joaquin acting with a total understanding
of the moment, and the character,
acting in complete control.
Every facial movement is precise, every vocal inflection
with purpose
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
- You're awful, Murray.
- Me?
I'm awful?
Oh yeah, how am I awful?
[END PLAYBACK]
It's the moment here where we, through nothing
but the placement of his stare and the shift
in facial expression, begin to understand that Arthur is
losing control of his emotions.
But it's the way that both actors
say a single line that is an example of an actor taking
control of a script.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
- I've got nothing left to lose.
Nothing can hurt me anymore.
[END PLAYBACK]
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
- You have nothing--
nothing to threaten me with, nothing to do with all your--
[END PLAYBACK]
This moment-- this is important-- this
is the moment where both of these characters and actors
establish their menace.
See, this is not scary--
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
- All of that chit-chat's gonna get ya hurt.
[END PLAYBACK]
--but this--
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
- I've got nothing left to lose.
[END PLAYBACK]
--this is.
And it's all about how it's played.
Arthur's very quiet admission that he no longer cares
about consequence is startling.
Joaquin faces the audience, the world,
as if to say there's nothing you can do to me now.
The thing that had been beating him down
was now at the mercy of his decisions.
And Joaquin delivers the line with spite,
with derision, and even with a small smile,
suggesting he finds it funny telling us, the audience,
that he's now capable of anything
and it feels, given that unconvincing smirk,
like Arthur is just now realizing that as well.
And this undresses the feeling of comfort
for the people watching the show, Murray,
and us, the viewer.
We think we know what's about to happen--
Arthur's going to end his life.
But Joaquin's roller coaster of inflection,
tone, and facial cues throughout this scene
begins to make us [? uncertaint. ?]
This shot also helps.
In it, we can no longer make out Arthur.
It's just a blurry image of something horrifying.
We only see the makeup.
The duality of Arthur's personality
displayed in two separate shots--
a coming out party for the Joker, if you will.
But the Joker here is articulating
kind of the same thing, but instead of the world,
or to the audience, it's to Batman.
Heath doesn't hide the irony of the situation.
He laughs with certainty in Bruce's face,
as he lets him know that, in this moment, he is invincible.
He can't be hurt.
Batman won't kill him.
He's winning.
He is free-- and to a smile that never leaves his face.
Once Batman lifts him off the ground
he takes a beating from Bruce, but he laughs.
Heath keeps a frightening smile on his face.
He shows us the pain that he's in with every punch
and moment of impact.
But he smiles as he winces.
And before that, throughout this entire encounter,
he was convincingly [? certaint. ?] He spends this
4 minutes convincing us with his expression and with one line--
that he's in power--
but it's nuance in these performances
that drive home their impact.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
- You're awful, Murray.
- Me?
I'm awful?
- Oh yeah, how am I awful?
- Play my video.
[END PLAYBACK]
Here you see Joaquin at what I think is his best--
just watch his eyes as they glaze over,
his jaw trembling-- and this is what follows.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
And in 5 seconds, through nothing but inflection,
through nothing but his eyes, we know he snapped.
And that very depressed, very angry look
shifts quickly to the rest of his face--
that rage shifts to a sad smile.
Tears fill Phoenix's eyes.
We see him putting on a face, almost like the makeup.
And in that face we see him struggle with the decision
that he's about make.
We see sadness, humanity, and it's frightening
because we know he's just made up his mind.
And even he's having an upsetting realization
of what he's about to do.
But there's a separation here between the performances
that is worth talking about.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
- Me?
I was right here.
[END PLAYBACK]
Where these two performances really distinguish themselves,
and where the two performances elevate themselves
beyond traditional superhero fare,
is in how these actors choose to portray stress.
Heath plays the scene in its entirety with the knowledge
that the Joker has the upper hand.
He's cold.
He takes his time.
He never raises his voice even after a joke.
A smile is never cracked, at least not a real one,
until Bruce loses his cool.
This is a character at his most calculated-- he wants Bruce
to know that he's winning.
And as Bruce does lose control, Heath's laugh becomes almost
sarcastic-- that smile creeps up on his face--
it's almost condescending.
As the situation escalates, Heath's ability
to be menacing, without pushing towards manic,
articulated just how much of a threat
Heath's Joker is-- just how [? certaint ?]
and premeditated this behavior is.
Through nothing but a moment where his inflection
shifts and his eyebrows lift, we begin
to question just how much we, and Bruce,
understand about what's really going on.
Throughout the entire scene, he manages
to portray dominance quietly.
It's Bruce who can't control himself.
Arthur-- Joaquin-- on the other hand
plays heavily into the manic nature of the character.
This scene is a slow descent into madness--
a microcosm of the entire film.
Instead of quiet dominance, Joaquin's Joker suddenly
doesn't feel heard as Murray slowly takes
control over the interview.
Arthur came here to be seen, and suddenly his voice
is being silenced, so we slowly watch as Phoenix begins
to violently display his rage.
And you could see it in his face.
Here, Arthur needs to be seen.
And as Murray begins to dictate the interview,
he no longer feels he can do that
with just a smile and a shocking statement.
As an inverse to the Joker scene,
Murray maintains the upper hand.
Murray never loses his cool, forcing
Arthur to be brasher and brasher,
until he's forced to act before the moment slips away.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
[GUNSHOT]
[PEOPLE SCREAMING]
[END PLAYBACK]
Joaquin's ability to articulate every bit
of Arthur's personality in those 4 minutes is unreal.
He's at once insecure, angry, excited, joyful,
[? uncertaint, ?] and evil.
We see him go from Arthur Fleck to the Joker in just
a single scene.
Look, winning an Oscar is an incredible achievement, but win
or loss, it's not what defines a great performance.
It is, after all, just an award.
But what Joaquin Phoenix and Heath Ledger
accomplished individually are two
of the best realizations of a pre-existing character
in modern cinema.
They are not the same performance.
And there is no winner between the two.
They took very different approaches to the Joker.
Heath's more villainous controlled
insanity versus Phoenix's unhinged descent
to that very reality.
They are two very different people, two very different
characters, but they both deserve the recognition.
Comic book film or not, Hangover director or not,
these performances will be looked at for direction
and inspiration for years.
The Joker will never be forgotten,
and Arthur will never go unheard again.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
- Can you introduce me as Joker?
[MANIACAL LAUGHTER]
[GUNSHOT]
[END PLAYBACK]
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