SlyGuy21
I'm not too familiar with Heath's movies, the only one I've seen with him in it was "The Dark Knight", but I've always been curious about other things he did in his very short life. This documentary is great, it shows the life of someone very full of energy and passion from the people who knew him best. It's sad how someone with that much heart, and soul, and creativity had to go out so early, but he left a great legacy behind. I'm also glad it showed other movies Heath had been a part of, instead of just his last one. It's inspiring at one end, but sad on the other. It does what it was made for, invoke emotion and celebrate someone who filled so many people with happiness.R.I.P. Heath Ledger
Antonia Tejeda Barros
I am a huge fan of Heath. I actually discovered him when he was already dead. He struck me and enchanted me, and I suffered a Heath's fever that lasted more than a year. I bought all his (16) films, and saw all his TV series. I also spent more than 3 months writing an article about him. Today, my obsession is gone, but the admiration will always be there. So, I was eagerly waiting for that new documentary about him. I watched it with my husband (who fell asleep) on our cinema projector, and, although the documentary is beautiful and touching, I must say I was a bit disappointed. I wanted more of Heath the actor. I think that the documentary tends to forget why do we all love Heath. We love him because of his movies. We love him because of his art. Also, the image we get from Heath is not multidimensional. Heath was human, and, as amazing as he was, I am sure he also had many flows, like all of us, but nobody dares to mention any of them. I.A.H.L. has a very personal touch. Heath's friends, ex-girlfriends, parents, and sisters talk about him with love and admiration, but, in my opinion, other angles are missing. I missed more directors & actors taking about Heath's art. I would have loved to see and hear Jake Gyllenhaall, Nolan, Bale, Rose Byrne, Bryan Brown, Gregor Jordan, Stiles, Gordon-Levitt, Haynes, Cornish, Rush, Gilliam, and Damon taking about Heath. Also, many of Heath's films are simply missing: Two Hands, The Sin Eater, The Brothers Grimm, Casanova, and Candy are just not there. Why? It's not that Heath made 100 films and you can easily omit 5 of them. He only made 16 films, some better than others, OK, but I definitely think that they all should have been there. Also, I.A.H.L. does not even mention the roles Heath took in some TV series, and his uncredited appearances in some movies. Before his first big role for the big screen (Two Hands), Heath appeared in 1992 (at the age of 13) in the movie Clowning Around as an orphan clown (uncredited) and in 1993–1994 in 3 episodes of the TV series Ship to Shore as a cyclist and as an actor. In 1996 he appeared in 26 episodes of the TV series Sweat as Snowy Bowles, a gay cyclist (yes, gay!), and, in 1997, in 11 episodes of the TV series Home and Away as Scott Irwin, and small roles in Blackrock (as Toby) and in Paws (as Oberon). The documentary only mentions Roar (an American production –13 episode TV series– shot in Australia) where Heath stars as Conor (which is a quite bad series, despite Heath's smile). And, what about Heath's death? That is mentioned only by passing. Well, we don't have to get stuck on his death, we don't have to see again those horrible photos of Heath's body covered by a black sheet carried by policemen out of his apartment that the media loved to show time and again the days after he died... but to talk a bit about his death, to through some light about his sudden end, would not have hurt, don't you agree? The only thing we can feel in the documentary is the fact that Heath was not depressed the days prior to his death, that he was full of projects and wishes, but that already was said by Terry Gilliam and others years ago. Heath died at the age of 28 due to an accidental overdose of prescription pills –a combination of 6 different painkillers, sleeping pills and anti- anxiety pills. A real lethal cocktail indeed. Today he would be 38 years old. Although his life wasn't easy by the time of his death, Heath had a strong love for life and was full of projects. Heath suffered from insomnia. In addition, he had a strong backache and a chest infection the days prior to his death that didn't allow him to sleep. Heath had several types of pills prescribed by doctors from different countries. Although no pill taken on its own was extremely dangerous, the combination of all together proved to be lethal. He took 6 pills (which is a lot), but he didn't take 30, which is common in suicides. Heath died probably without suffering. He just stopped breathing. His death was purely accidental. A missing figure in the documentary is the mother of Heath's daughter. That did not surprised me, because I never found Ms. Williams generous to share anything about Heath with Heath's fans (but, still, she didn't have anything nice to say about him? Weird). Not that she was more special than all the others girlfriends of Heath, but she is the mother of his daughter. Heath had many girlfriends and none lasted more than 2 years. To fall in love is not difficult. What it is difficult is to keep the love, year after year, and that was something that Heath didn't know to do or didn't want to do, because he kept having short relationships one after the other. There are two ex- girlfriends of Heath who are generous enough to talk in the documentary about Heath, which are Cauchi and Watts. A nice thing about I.A.H.L. is that the documentary finally puts emphasis in the creative side of Heath as a photographer, video camera man, and director of video clips. Heath also created a music label called Masses Music Co. (known as The Masses) and directed several music videos.The worst: the lack of directors and actors taking about Heath, the one-dimensional view, the missing movies and TV series, and the fact that the DVD does not have English subtitles (so deaf people are punished without being able to enjoy it). The best: the unseen footage, and the human and personal touch.
David Ferguson
Greetings again from the darkness. Lao Tzu wrote "The flame that burns twice as bright, burns half as long". Though the math might be a bit off, that phrase aptly describes the too-brief life and career of shooting star Heath Ledger. As a 20 year old from Australia, his talent seemed to leap from the screen in 1999's 10 Things I Hate About You. As his popularity soared, so did his commitment to avoid being typecast as the charming and handsome love interest by the desperate directors of every upcoming rom-com project.It seems inconceivable (that word means what you think it means) that Mr. Ledger only made 15 more movies before an overdose killed him in 2008 (at age 28). Adrian Buiterhuis and Derik Murray co-direct this portrait of the man, the artist, the friend, the father. We see the young Heath, nearly always with camera in hand, flouncing about with his buddies as he seeks his next adventure. The home videos and photos fill the screen with luminosity that we recognize from his movies … the camera loved his face, and he seemed to love everything about filmmaking.Interviews, often the bane of biographical documentaries, provide a real sense of the admiration and love that Ledger attracted. His father, mother, sister, childhood Aussie friends, agent Steve Alexander, former lover Naomi Watts, and close friend Ben Harper pay tribute not just to the star who burned out too soon, but also the warm-hearted man they all connected with.The film walks us through some of his key movies: his chance to work with his acting idol Mel Gibson in The Patriot, A Knight's Tale, his devastating performance in Monster's Ball, The Four Feathers, Ned Kelly, reminiscing with Catherine Hardwicke on Lords of Dogstown, his stunning turn in Brokeback Mountain, and his final movie The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus with his beloved director Terry Gilliam. Of course, there is also a full segment on his most famous (and his own personal favorite) role as The Joker (a guy with a plan) in The Dark Knight. The role not only won Ledger a posthumous Oscar, it became the most talked about film performance in years.Even more interesting than the recollections from the various movie sets are the bits and pieces we get of Ledger as guy sharing the journey with his buddies, approaching master status as a chess player, as an artist dedicated to his craft, or as a photographer honing his style (in music videos) in what surely would have been an intriguing path as a director. Director Ang Lee brings us closer to understanding what we have missed out on in regards to Ledger as an artist, and with actress Michelle Williams, the mother of his daughter Matilda, choosing not to participate in the film, we still have the distance between fan and man that allows for due respect.
