The biggest movie of the year has started out with record setting box office numbers in its first day. In fact, it's midnight showing alone took in 18 million dollars.
Part of the appeal may be a choice made by its co-star, Heath Ledger, to overdose this winter. The interest in this film was already high, but with his James Dean-esque appeal, it has taken on a new glow.
No one, including him, I'm sure, would have made the choice he made knowing the consequences. Whether it was calculated, miscalculated, or in-the-moment - the choices Heath Ledger made have affected his legacy, the 2008 box-office, the Oscar race, and, hopefully, the conversations of parents with their teens.
It is the last of these, the conversations, that could truly represent the legacy of Ledger and even the Dark Knight, in the months to follow. Drugs are dangerous. Risky. Unpredictable. Success does not create invincibility. A posthumous Oscar brings no joy to the recipient.
Go ahead - go see the movie. Enjoy it for what it is - 2 1/2 hours of escapism. But don't let Ledger's choices go to waste. Have the conversation with your tween or teen. Don't wait until you experience your own dark night.
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