I Am Heath Ledger (2017)

Friends and family of the late actor Heath Ledger remember his life and career.

Directors:

Adrian Buitenhuis, Derik Murray

Writer:

Hart Snider

Stars:

Heath Ledger, Ben Harper, Kim Ledger

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Heath Ledger	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ben Harper	...	Himself
Kim Ledger	...	Himself
Sally Bell	...	Herself
Kate Ledger	...	Herself
Trevor DiCarlo
Kane Manera	...	Himself
Nfa Forster-Jones	...	Himself (as N'fa Forster-Jones)
Lisa Zane	...	Herself (archive footage)
Matt Amato	...	Himself
Naomi Watts	...	Herself
Steve Alexander	...	Himself
Christina Cauchi	...	Herself
Ben Mendelsohn	...	Himself
Gerry Grennell	...	Himself

Storyline

I Am Heath Ledger is a feature length documentary celebrating the life of Heath Ledger: actor, artist and icon. The documentary provides an intimate look at Heath Ledger through the lens of his own camera as he films and often performs in his own personal journey.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to christopher nolan | actor | artist | camera | friend | 

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Taglines:

Witness never before seen photos, original interviews and showcase footage.

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Network Entertainment - Production Company Official Site

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 October 2017 (South Korea)

Also Known As:

Eu Sou Heath Ledger

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$657,886, 27 May 2017

Company Credits

Production Co:

Network Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

Adrian Buitenhuis and Derik Murray filming now "I am Paul Walker" after "I am Heath Ledger". Interesting to see the connection between his docs and the short film "Updating Death" by Carsten Aschmann. Heath Ledger and Paul Walker acting in this one. The third one in this circle is Philip Seymour Hoffman. Maybe Adrian Buitenhuis and Derik Murray come up next years with "I am Philip Seymour Hoffman.

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Quotes

Kate Ledger: [referring to how Heath learned character acting from Mel Gibson while they filmed The Patriot] he used to say it's not always about what Mel says, it's about what he doesn't say

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Connections

Features Monster's Ball (2001)

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Soundtracks

Perth
Performed by Bon Iver

User Reviews

A guy with a plan

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.