Heath Ledger's death has completely taken me by surprise. It becomes standard when someone dies to lionize them with praise and regard that they wouldn't think of heaping while there were alive. But I honestly believe that a amazing talent has been cut down in their prime. He's been in his share of clunkers, but it hasn't been his fault (The Brothers Grimm comes to mind). His performance in Brokeback Mountain - in a lesser actor's hands- could have been been one-dimensionally stoic; making it merely the "gay cowboy" movie that people who didn't see it thought it was. But the river of passion and regret that ran underneath Ledger's performance of Ennis made the heartbreak of the last scene completely real. This was a man at war with himself, putting himself emotionally and geographically far away from the people that loved him. Not until he sees his lover and friend's bloody shirt does he truly realize the price he's had to pay for his isolation. It's one of the most powerfully emotional scenes I have ever seen.
I'm sure that he is going to be amazing as the Joker, but I know he had many more great roles ahead of him. My heart goes out to his family and young daughter.
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