I Am Heath Ledger

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 his TV series on DVD and on YouTube. I also spent more than 3 months writing an article about his art. Today, my obsession is gone, but the admiration will always be there. So, I was eagerly waiting for that new documentary about him, I Am Heath Ledger, and I bought it on DVD as soon as it came up. 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 artist and 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 in I Am Heath Ledger is one-sized-image, not multidimensional, and that's a real pity. 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 Am Heath Ledger has a very personal touch. Heath's friends, ex-girlfriends, parents, and sisters talk about him with love and admiration, which is very nice, but, in my opinion, other angles are missing. I definitely missed more directors, actors and actresses taking about Heath's art. I would have loved to see and hear Jake Gyllenhaall, Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale, Rose Byrne, Bryan Brown, Gregor Jordan, Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Todd Haynes, Abbie Cornish, Geoffrey Rush, Terry Gilliam, and Matt Damon taking about Heath. Also, many of Heath's films are simply missing. Nobody even mentions them: Two Hands, The Sin Eater, The Brothers Grimm, Casanova, and Candy are just not there. Why? How can you make a documentary without mentioning these films? 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. The amazing documentary about Woody Allen directed by Robert B. Weide, Woody Allen: A Documentary (2012) also omits some of Allen's films, which is a pity, but in that case we can be forgive that, since Woody Allen has made more than 50 films. Also, I Am Heath Ledger 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 (S1, Ep.12 & Ep.13) and as an actor (S2, Ep.1). 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 the drama Blackrock (as Toby) and in the family movie 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 (two months and a half before his 29th birthday) due to an accidental overdose of prescription pills –a combination of 6 different painkillers, sleeping pills and anti-anxiety pills (oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam –Valium–, temapezan, alprazolam –Xanax– and doxylamine). A real lethal cocktail indeed. Today he would be 38 years old. Heath appears in his last movie much thinner. When Heath came back to New York after London, he said that he was a little depressed about not having seen his daughter. Nevertheless, Gilliam and Heath’s co-stars in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus remember Heath’s vitality, energy and strength, and denied that Heath was down.Although his life wasn’t easy by the time of his death, Heath had a strong love for life and was full of projects. His father shows in the amazing documentary Too Young to Die: Heath Ledger (2012) several scrips of projects that Heath kept for doing in the future. The day after he died he was supposed to meet director Shekhar Kapur to discuss several 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 I Am Heath Ledger 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, nevertheless, 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, on the contrary, is rather easy. 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, which is a bit a pity. There are two ex-girlfriends of Heath who are generous enough to talk in the documentary about Heath, which are Christina Cauchi and Naomi Watts. A nice thing about I Am Heath Ledger 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 was fascinated by Nick Drake whom also died at a very young age (26), in 1974, and thought about doing a movie about him. Heath created a music label called Masses Music Co. (known as The Masses) and directed several music videos. “I do have some wonderful distractions … I have a music label and I direct music videos and so I immerse myself in a different industry which kind of keeps acting really fresh for me", said Heath once. I Am Heath Ledger shows us lots of unseen footage of Heath: Heath with the camera and Heath with his friends, which is amazing and touching to see. The worst: the lack of directors, actors, and actresses taking about Heath, the one-dimensional view of Heath, 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 the documentary). The best: the unseen footage, and the human and personal touch. Antonia Tejeda Barros, Madrid, June 25, 2017

Was not what I hoped for

This was a great documentary about a generational talent beyond his years with a penchant for escaping” from life when it got “lifey.” Addiction is a lifelong battle, and I still feel remorse knowing that Heath really was so confused. This is not a program you ever get to graduate from or get straight As in. It’s a marathon, and not a sprint, so buckle up!! It gets better and better, as long as you don’t quit before the miracle reveals itself!

Definitely must watch. Beyond touching. What a beautiful gift for his daughter to have glimpse of who her father was and the many lives that he touched. The inclusion of video taken by Heath with his own camera allows just a peek into his ability to transform and disappear into the character he was portraying. You notice at the beginning of the documentary how brightly the light was shining in Heath's eyes and you could actually see when his light was burning out. Somehow, he knew in his being that he had a lot to accomplish and not a lot of time to do so. So young and yet so wise, a true visionary. I believe this gives a significant view of the creative process from a fabulously creative individual. Very glad that Michelle Williams gave this film her blessing. Matilda will be able to learn a great deal about who her father was and cherish the memories.

After watching this film, which is really a love fest for Heath Ledger created by friends and family, I went on to watch all of Heaths films and interviews. I was inspired by his confidence to so boldly go out and create his career at such a young age. This film gives a real feel for the actors creativity and passion for music, art, film, people and life itself. His father, mother and sisters are candid and generous sharing stories about Heath and personal films that he made which are charming and sweet. Friends and colleges share stories about the actors life in film and his personal quirks and talents especially as a friend. Definately worth watch especially if you are a Heath Ledger fan!

Great documentary! It showed the humility in who he was & what he struggled with in his life. I wonder if he did not have a choice whether or not to be who he was- a star. That he shined bright & couldnt continue to keep shining. It made me sad to see this world lose a light like Heath Ledger- his struggle to find balance, purpose & to continually help others in the process was evident. Beautiful film.

Amazing. Thank you for setting the record straight about the light that was Heath Ledger. He did seem to know somehow that his candle would only burn for so long, no wonder it shined so bright. Thank you to his friends for sharing the real Heath with us even though its obvious it was painful for you to share. I had no idea all he was involved with, so sad he had to leave us so soon, way before he was really meant to go. God Bless you all and his family especially his precious daughter.

This movie was such a great testament to Heath and who he was as a person.