Who's Who in the CBU 2008

Name: Regie Rigby

Regie is a strange, almost ethereal creature. Who can plumb the hidden mysteries of his dark and murky past - a past which contains a terrible secret. A secret that taught him that with great power comes great responsibility, that criminals are a cowardly superstitious lot and just who exactly knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men.

By day, he assumes the appearance of a mild mannered teacher, bringing the joy of literature and the English Language to classes of enthralled and enthusiastic students. But by night?

By night he goes home and writes lesson plans. Sorry. That's as interesting as he gets. Really.

The rumours about rooftop struggles with underworld uberfiends, the gossip about the hidden cave filled with hi-tec equipment and the suggestion that his car might be fitted with turbo lasers are all nonsense.

When he's not teaching he reads comics. Sometimes he combines the two activities. When he's not doing that he's either playing computer games or asleep.

The Joker

By Regie Rigby

I nearly didn’t run this column, in deference to recent events. Obviously, since you’re reading it, I decided to make some changes and go ahead. I just didn’t want you to think I hadn’t thought about it.

You see, as The Dark Knight draws inexorably closer, I’ve been thinking about The Joker. What he is, and who should play him.

Like the Bat himself, the Clown Prince of Crime has undergone a number of transformations in his time. My first encounter with him was the posturing white faced caricature that Caeser Romero delivered in the sixties Batman TV show. Even as a kid I couldn’t understand how this buffoon could challenge the might of the Batman – and when you consider that this is Adam West’s Batman we’re talking about, that’s saying something.

Romero was, I’m sure, a great actor in his way – and it’s unfair to look at that show and single out the Joker as being ridiculous – it was a ridiculous show after all. On purpose. He was wrong for the part though. Heck, if you look closely it’s fairly clear he didn’t even shave off his moustache, they just pancaked over it. There was worse to come though. Much, much worse.

The “Batmania” that accompanied Tim Burton’s 1989 movie made it unfashionable to say so at the time, but who the hell thought Jack Nicholson would make a good Joker?! Now, don’t get me wrong – Nicholson is a fine actor. More than fine. There are few, if any actors who have the ability to light up a screen the way he does. The sheer manic energy he can bring to a part should’ve made him perfect – and in the sixties he could probably have pulled it off.

But in 1989 I sat in the ABC Cinema in my home town of Doncaster and just saw Jack Nicholson being, well, Jack Nicholson in white face paint. He was far from being the worst thing about the movie – but he was so big that he’s the thing that stood out the most. You know who would’ve been better?

Prince.

No, really, think about it. If the Joker is about anything, he’s about flamboyance and charisma. Love him or loathe him, Prince has both of those qualities in spades. He’s not the greatest actor in the world (I rather like Purple Rain, but let’s not pretend that he was ever going to rival Brando or anything) but he wouldn’t have needed to be.

And he looks right. Honestly, go and look at the shape of his head, then imagine him in white make-up, with the red lips and a suitable hair style. Bloody perfect. Truly a wasted opportunity.

And then, well, and then we get to the man I wasn’t sure I wanted to talk about today.

Heath Ledger looks as though he’s going to be perfect too, although I can’t help thinking it’s going to be a slightly melancholy film to watch now.

There are several things about this incarnation of the Joker that appealed to me from the off. First of all, I thought that Ledger was an inspired piece of casting. Although his career has been a short one, he has proved himself to be an actor of great range and scope – certainly charisma wasn’t going to be a problem for him and his performance in Brokeback Mountain suggests that he could bring the depth of tragedy inherent in the Joker to the character in a way that no other actor has even attempted.

And then there’s the look.

If you’ve seen the trailer, you’ll have seen the unkempt “raggedy man” appearance they’ve come up with for the Joker in Dark Knight. Nothing like the fastidious pinstripes and purple tailcoat so familiar from the comics. No pure white contorted smile to rival that sported by Nicholson all those years ago.

Instead we have a scruffy (but rather individual) suit and what appears to be clown make-up applied by a careless child. But in his eyes as he peers out of the trailer screen and enquires “Why so serious?” there is an intensity, an almost irresistible power in his gaze. Not – and this is important it seems to me – insanity, but a terrifyingly different and incomprehensible way of looking at the world.

Because the more I think about it, the more I realise that The Joker isn’t insane in the conventional sense. From what I’ve seen so far, it would appear that Ledger understood that. He seems to have played the character as a terrifying force of chaos operating to a whole other set of rules. I like the idea that they seem to have taken the bold step of not even trying to explain his origins or his motivations to the audience. From the trailers I’ve seen I get the impression that we’re going to be as mystified as the Gotham PD.

Over the last few months I’ve been finding myself slowly reeled in by the viral marketing for the movie that’s been emerging on the ‘net. I’ve been revelling in the apparent darkness of the vision. And I’ve been marvelling at the possibilities presented by the possibility of a protracted battle between Bale’s Batman and Ledger’s Joker.

Recent events have changed things. But they don’t change the work that Ledger has already done. They don’t change the performance he has already given. Events have transpired to make The Joker Heath Ledger’s last film role, which is a tragedy and a great loss. I think it might well prove to be the definitive movie version of the character.