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Review

A star rating of 4 out of 5.

Growing up in Perth, Australia, in the early 1980s, Heath Ledger stuck stars on his bedroom ceiling to remind him where he was headed. This hagiographic but frank biography of the doomed actor presents him as a force of nature who, close friends and family adoringly attest, "had this light around him" but also "too much energy, too much creativity". Self-taken footage of Ledger whirling around and staring into the camcorder grouts this documentary, which features emotional testimony from lifelong buddies including Naomi Watts, Djimon Hounsou and musician Ben Harper. Having oversimplified his early career, the film patiently plots Ledger's transformation from travel-hungry teen star to mature, award-winning actor. As with the similarly home-movie-filled Amy, the imminence of an early death (from "combined drug intoxication" at the age of 28) renders even the positive energy tragic. The indie band Bon Iver wrote the plangent song Perth about him and it movingly bookends the film, while his grieving family lament that when Ledger died in 2008, "the world found out before we did". A sad story, well told by those that knew him.

How to watch

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Credits

Cast

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Heath LedgerHeath Ledger
Naomi WattsNaomi Watts
Ben MendelsohnBen Mendelsohn
Michelle WilliamsMichelle Williams
Ang LeeAng Lee

Crew

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DirectorDerik Murray
DirectorAdrian Buitenhuis

Details

Languages
English
Available on
DVD and Blu-ray
Formats
Colour
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