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Should Heath Ledger win an Oscar®?

Posted on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009
by Andrea Miller - Cineplex Entertainment

Heath Ledger

Following his posthumous Golden Globe win for Best Supporting Actor and nominations from almost every major film critics’ organization, the chances of Heath Ledger joining the ranks of Oscar winners for his startling portrayal as the nihilistic crime-lord The Joker in The Dark Knight are nearly a lock.

Buzz has been building since before the film’s summer release and talk of Ledger sequestering himself in a hotel room while creating the comic book villain added to the myth and legend of the late actor’s near-final performance.

There is no denying that Ledger dazzled on the big screen, bringing a fresh sense of terror and barely-contained lunacy to a very well-known character – but is this enough to net him the first posthumous acting Oscar since 1976?

At the risk of being wildly unpopular and the target of many a rabid fan’s furious rant, I have to say no.

Check out what some people had to say about Heath Ledger winning an Oscar.

That isn’t to say Ledger didn’t do a commendable job of re-imagining a character that was, up until that point, clearly owned by everyone’s favourite grinning lothario, Jack Nicholson. As well, Christopher Nolan made good on the franchise overhaul he hinted at with 2002’s Batman Begins, sketching a darker, more troubled world for the conflicted superhero and depraved baddie whose intrinsic struggle lay at the heart of the film.

So why not grant Ledger the Oscar then, you ask?

Though it’s only human to romanticize the past and lionize the departed, Ledger’s work, while good, simply does not hold up to the canon of Oscar winning roles. Yes, he did an exemplary job of elevating the superhero villain to new artistic levels, but when viewed with respect to the other celebrated performances this year – Philip Seymour Hoffman in Doubt, Robert Downey Jr. in anything, Josh Brolin in Milk and Eddie Marsan from Happy-Go-Lucky, to name a few – and from years past, The Joker, quite simply, comes up short.

Acting like a lawless maniac who lives to see things go boom certainly isn’t as easy as it sounds but Ledger showed grace, subtlety and more importantly, range, in Brokeback Mountain as Ennis del Mar, earning him his first, and very deserved, Oscar nomination. Similarly, he was one of the many skilled actors tackling a man who knows a thing or two about self-mythologizing in Todd Haynes’ inventive Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There.

There’s no doubt that the Australia native was much more than his chiseled jaw and easy smile originally suggested, taking on roles that made the public forget his part in late-90s teen fare and see him as an accomplished actor in his own right.

But the Oscars are meant to honour the best performances of the year in film and though Ledger’s Joker will no doubt be remembered and widely admired, a Best Supporting Oscar win would be, simply put, unfair.

For a full list of the 2009 Oscar nominees click here.

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What do YOU think? Should Heath Ledger win an Oscar for his work in The Dark Knight? Is his performance overrated or amazing? Discuss your thoughts below!

(Click here for tickets to The Dark Knight IMAX® encore presentation)

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    • EmilyBradenFan
    • Written at 3:21 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 23, 2009

    • He was exceptionally good. But I cannot accept any Oscars going to a comic book-based movie.
      Neither can I comprehend how Robert Downey Jr. could win an Oscar for a role in a comedy. I don't see him listed for leading male. Mickey Rourke was also very good. I think the male actor most deserving for his work this year is Sean Penn in Milk.

    • Regulator
    • Written at 11:16 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 23, 2009

    • No doubt heath was great... but what about robert downey jr in tropic thunder?? seriously, the guys was unreal in that movie... tough call.

    • Lady Linda
    • Written at 10:28 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 23, 2009

    • Heath was great in Dark Knight, without a doubt. He brought a whole new, dark dimension to the character, & made the part his own. The movie was better for his performance in it. Does he deserve the nomination? Absolutely. Should he win? Probably not. I don't think he's the BEST of the nominees in terms of performance, and it would be sad if it were awarded simply as a sympathy vote.

    • borntoeun
    • Written at 11:47 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009

    • First of all how can anyone sit there and say what is or is not the best performance. It is completely subjective.
      The oscars are not about the best but are a forum to promote their industry. When they decide who wins it is based on politics and nothing else. Everyone of the nominee's deserve to win but Heath Ledger will win because it is the best story and it is good for Oscar.

    • Yawnie
    • Written at 11:36 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2009

    • Although I found his portrayal quite good I do not believe he should have received any of the awards he's been posthumously awarded this year. It seems that the awards committees make their decisions based not on the performance but on the performer. Just look at this years Oscar nominations. Anyone paying attention knows that certain people shouldn't have even been considered for the ballot.

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