HEATH LEDGER - LEDGER'S LAST FILM NOT A BIG HIT AMONG CRITICS

LEDGER'S LAST FILM NOT A BIG HIT AMONG CRITICS

HEATH LEDGER's final film has been given a lukewarm reception at the Cannes Film Festival - and many critics were shocked to see his character hanging from a London bridge with a rope around his neck in his first scene.
Ledger died in January, 2008 before he completed work on Terry Gilliam's fantasy film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus; Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell stepped in to complete his part in the movie.
And though film reviewers have been kind to the late actor in his final role, they've not been so taken by Gilliam or his film, which premiered at Cannes this week (beg18May09).
Britain's TimesOnline critic James Christopher writes, "Ledger is a marvel to watch," but insists the plot of the film is "slim, incomprehensible, and desperately unconvincing".
He goes on to suggest the film "could have benefited with a lot more hard story and a lot less whimsy".
And Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw insists the film is "amiable" but "could be for fans only," adding "the film's convoluted curlicues are tiring, insisting too loudly on how 'imaginative' everything is".