The chilling book Christopher Nolan had Heath Ledger prepare for the role of the Joker

Heath Ledger's performance in 2008's The Dark Knight was probably the best Joker performance ever. It was a show that inspired millions of people's Halloween costumes ever since, and so on inspired Timothée Chalamet to get involved in acting. In addition, it is also 1st choice /List of the best Heath Ledger performances in moviesa feat made more impressive by Ledger's already stacked filmography. Even people who hated the movie can agree that Ledger has nailed it here, and since 17 years Hollywood has tried in vain to capture what made Ledger's version so special.

One of the many elements that contributed to Ledger's image was the book A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. Similar to Kubrick's 1972 film of the same namethis book is about an evil, chaotic young man who seems to just want to watch the world burn. Alex, the book's main character, is someone who doesn't have a clear backstory that explains why he's so evil; he simply has an appetite for depraved violence and has very little qualms about indulging it. Sounds familiar, right? Christopher Nolan certainly thought so, which is probably why he gave the book to Ledger as an assignment to read before production began.

“We decided on (Ledger) before we even wrote the script, so he had a very long time to obsess over what he was going to do,” Nolan explained. 2018 IndieWire interview. “I sent him material, like I told him to read 'A Clockwork Orange.' a shameless villain who acts for no apparent rhyme or reason.Alex and the Joker are certainly scary and repulsive, but many readers and viewers find it funny to see what craziness he will do next.

Arguably the most relevant part of A Clockwork Orange, at least as far as Ledger's Joker is concerned, is the final chapter, which was cut from the original American publication and therefore not later covered in Kubrick's adaptation. This final chapter shows Alex finally having an epiphany of sorts, realizing that he doesn't really want to continue down this path of mindless violence. It's a startling hope that helps prove the book isn't as nihilistic as its critics have made it out to be.

In his introduction to the 1986 edition, the first American edition of the book to include this redemptive final chapter, Burgess explained how he felt his book had been somewhat misunderstood by the masses, and that his final chapter was intended to present a more optimistic view of humanity. the fact that everyone (even Alex) has free will and the ability to improve. However, the much darker thematic conclusion from the original American release and subsequent film adaptation is what has stuck with most people.

This is similar to how Ledger's Joker is often portrayed as a true nihilistic agent of chaos, someone who really is as evil, random, and unplanned as he claims to be. It's an interpretation that ignores some of the best layers of the character — mainly that this Joker spends a lot of time planning things and isn't really motivated by a pure desire to watch the world burn. This Joker is a bitter, insecure man who wants to prove to Batman that anyone can become as bad as him, and when the ferrymen choose not to blow each other up, he is definitively (at least for the film) proven wrong. .

Despite its understandable reputation as a darker Batman film, The Dark Knight is more optimistic in its worldview than is often acknowledged. I'm not sure Nolan had this part of the book's legacy in mind when he suggested it to Ledger, but it certainly makes for an intriguing connection.