I thought his performance in Brokeback Mountain<\/i> was an iconic performance – strong, silent, a real throwback to another kind of male character (Josh Brolin in No Country For Old Men<\/i> is a more recent example). The silent stoic Marlboro Man, with hidden depths. When he let it out, it was raw, jagged, ugly. Not because the emotions themselves were ugly, but because he was so unused to expressing that side of him that it came out like an explosion, messy and heart-cracking. The way he kissed Gyllenhaal against the wall during their reunion is an example. It was so violent and ferocious, you couldn’t tell if it was a punch and a kiss.<\/p>\n
It is one of the more visceral performances of recent memory. You could smell the nicotine on the edges of his fingers, you could smell his sweat. This was not a man who spoke much, felt comfortable speaking … and any time he did open his mouth to speak, it was as though the vocal cords took a while to realize: “Oh … we’re doing this now? We’re talking?”<\/p>\n
Gyllenhaal was good – but there were times when I remembered he was an actor, and it pulled me out of it a bit.<\/p>\n
I never ever had that thought with Ledger. And I remember, too, his couple of scenes in Monster’s Ball<\/i>, another deeply portrayed kind of awkward guy, not used to speaking much – and given the right circumstances that character would probably be an awesome husband, partner … But as it was, he was relegated to isolation, stoic silence.<\/p>\n
A quiet (maybe shy) tough silent guy, a throwback perhaps, bulked up against feeling or vulnerability, meeting life with a clenched fist … but oh, if you could just pry that hand open, what a generous soul you would find. That, to me, is who Ledger was onscreen. But then you would see him in interviews, and he seemed so slight <\/em>physically – there were times I wouldn’t even know that that was the same guy – he had such a presence <\/em>when he was acting, he always looked totally different on the red carpet, or in interviews. His physicality in real life looked delicate, slim, slender, almost Orlando Bloom-ish. He was a sensitive guy, with lovely manners.<\/p>\n It made me realize that, yeah, he was acting<\/i> in Brokeback<\/i>. He did a helluva job.<\/p>\n Watch him sit and think<\/i> in Brokeback<\/i>. It’s my favorite kind of film performance – spare, clear, emotional, visual, it’s all in the eyes.<\/p>\n I’m really shocked and sad.<\/p>\n Rest in peace.<\/p>\n Share your thoughts about him at House Next Door<\/a>.<\/p>\n And here at Edward’s<\/a>.<\/p>\n Alex has a post up<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jim Emerson has a very moving tribute up<\/a>. It begins:<\/p>\n Rare is the performance that can honestly be called a “revelation,” but that’s what it felt like to watch Heath Ledger in “Brokeback Mountain.” Not only did he bring iconic life and nuance to the existential loneliness of Ennis Del Mar, a taciturn but complex (and conflicted) character, but for such mature work to spring from the teen-idol star of “10 Things I Hate About You” and “A Knight’s Tale” was… well, revelatory itself — the astonishing revelation of a suddenly, fully developed actor who, in the superficial juvenile parts he’d played previously, had given little indication he was capable of such moving depth and clarity. Ledger emerged as if from a cocoon, gleaming with promise and flexing his wings.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Brendon at My Five Year Plan has a post<\/a> which brought tears to my eyes.<\/p>\n Marisa shares her thoughts<\/a>. That’s one of my favorite moments in the film, too Marisa. Ouch.<\/p>\n If Brokeback\u00e2\u0080\u0099s <\/em>pain proved exquisite for some and unbearably raw for others, odds are it was all because of Ennis\u00e2\u0080\u0099s internalized anguish, his disparity between how he felt and how he was told to act opening up a chasm within him too great to bridge.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I just re-watched Brokeback Mountain<\/i>. I’m really sad about this one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I thought his performance in Brokeback Mountain was an iconic performance – strong, silent, a real throwback to another kind of male character (Josh Brolin in No Country For Old Men is a more recent example). The silent stoic Marlboro … Continue reading
\nRobbie at Reverseblog has a post up<\/a> about Brokeback<\/i>, and why that performance was so crucial.<\/p>\n