But I'm not as upset over the multitude of Oscar snubs as I should be. Basically because the only nomination that I passionately cared about was announced: Heath Ledger for Best Supporting Actor.
Christopher Nolan is one of the most unique storytellers of our generation. He was neglected with a Best Director nom in 2002 (though Ron Howard still would've won for A Beautiful Mind) for his direction of the unbelievably complex Memento. But as all awards are, the Oscars are purely subjective, seen through many artistic prisms. The fact that TDK was THE most talked about, raved and watched movie of the year makes it a head scratcher why it's not among the Best Picture nominations. But I'm not broken up.
That's because the biggest piece of the adulation pie is and should be reserved for the late Heath Ledger. As I called Jamie Fox's Best Actor win the first time I saw Ray, I'm not only predicting it for Mr. Ledger, I invested my emotional support in it, usually only reserved for electing a Savior President or (in my case) every game the Lakers play.
EVERY showing of The Dark Knight that I attended ended with audience members cheering, not just applauding, but cheering when Heath Ledger's name came on in the final credits. And I was one of them. Every time. Not because he was cool. Not because I'm a Bat-fan. It's because I knew I just witnessed one of the greatest performances I will ever see. And I'll never see him do it again.
Yes, The Dark Knight trails only Titanic as the second highest grossing movie of all time. Yes, it got robbed like Terry Benedict in Ocean's Eleven. But if not for Heath Ledger as The Joker, we wouldn't even be having this discussion.
