The Crow connection is apt. I remember that Brandon Lee’s death during filming delayed the release for a full year. When The Crow finally screened, I remember really taking to Lee’s performance and remarking that he seemed poised for great things. It underscored the bittersweet poignancy in a film that already boasted that as a theme.

And it’s true that I had only recently started to become interested in Ledger following his casting in The Dark Knight, but I had seen him in The Patriot and Brokeback Mountain and he was a fine actor.

I think this has cast a pall over The Dark Knight, much as Brandon Lee’s death did to The Crow. One has to wonder whether the mental and psychological stress of portraying a murderous sociopath took a toll on Ledger’s psyche, or at the very least, deprived him of sleep (which he mentioned in interviews) and drove him to the sleeping pills.

That said, I too think his portrayal of the Joker may be remembered as a great final performance and just might lead to a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Not that any of that matters–I’d take all of that and his performance in TDK to have him back.