Ned Kelly

 

Ned Kelly 2003

• Director: Gregor Joran
• Seen by this director: Two Hands
• Based on book by Robert Drewe
• Cast: Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, Naomi Watts, Joel Edgerton, Laurence Kinlan, Phillip Barantini, Kerry Condan, Kris McQuade, Emily Browning, Kiri Paramore, Rachel Griffiths
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Heath Ledger – The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The Dark Knight, Brokeback Mountain, Casanova, The Brothers Grimm, A Knight’s Tale, Two Hands, 10 Things I Hate about You
• Orlando Bloom – Pirates etc, Hobbit etc, Main Street, Extras, Kingdom of Heaven, Wilde
• Geoffrey Rush – Pirates etc, The Book Thief, The King’s Speech, Elizabeth the Golden Age, Frida, Shakespeare in Love, Elizabeth, Les Misérables, Shine
• Naomi Watts – The Impossible, King Kong, 21 Grams
• Joel Edgerton – The Great Gatsby, Kinky Boots, Star Wars III & II
• Laurence Kinlan – Breakfast on Pluto, Intermission
• Kerry Condon – Three Billboards outside Ebbing Missouri, This Must Be the Place, The Last Station, Intermission
• Kris McQuade – December Boys, Strictly Ballroom
• Emily Browning – Legend, Summer in February
• Kiri Paramore - Two Hands
• Rachel Griffiths – Hacksaw Ridge, Six Feet Under, Very Annie Mary, Hilary & Jackie, Amy, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Jude, Muriel’s Wedding
• Why? Heath Ledger
• Seen: Once before. Now 26 December 2022       

Ned Kelly was an Australian outlaw turned legend-hero. I don’t know the truth of the history, if he was a good guy or a bad guy, but this is clearly a romanticised version. He’s a good guy and a real hunk in the form of young Ledger.

It’s gritty, violent, macho and Robin Hood-y. At times it’s boring, at times it’s humorous, often melodramatic and pompous, now and again politically stirring.

It’s no masterpiece but neither is it a turkey. It’s somewhere in between and a bit of both. Because I like Ledger it’s

3 * of 5