The late Heath Ledger’s legacy lives on in his performances, and this year there's one film you must watch to see the charismatic Aussie at his best.
For many film fans, when you say Heath Ledger, you immediately think of the Joker... myself included.
But the actor - who tragically died at the age of 28 in 2008 - has a large catalogue of other impressive roles and performances, Brokeback Mountain, A Knight’s Tale and The Brothers Grimm to name a few.
But there's one film which, in my opinion, doesn’t get enough love, despite it being a rom-com favorite for many.
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And if you don’t know what film I'm talking about by now, I’ll fill you in: 10 Things I Hate About You.
So, this year for your Valentine's Day film viewing, dash The Notebook out the window and tell Bridget Jones to keep her thoughts in her diary because the 1999 classic is taking the reins.
10 Things I Hate About You, like a lot of film adaptations, it is based on the works of William Shakespeare and in this instance, it is his play The Taming of the Shrew.
But if you're like me, you either can’t remember it or never did get around to finishing it at school, so let’s focus on the Gil Junger directed flick instead.
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The storyline is a little confusing, (cheers Shakespeare), so bear with me.
The film essentially boils down to school bad boy Patrick Verona (Ledger) being paid to take out an abrasive and disagreeable classmate Kat Stratford (Julia Stiles) on a series of dates.
By doing this, Kat's younger sister Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) is in turn allowed to go on dates as part of their father’s stern house rules.
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This is great news for the school jerk, Joey (Andrew Keegan) who hopes to win Bianca over with his flashy car and overall jacka** behavior.
All the while, the more earnest and sweeter Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) attempts to win her affections the old-fashioned way.
Ledger is joined by a host of then-young talent who would go on to have impressive careers.
So, in some ways the movie is very much like a lot of the teen school films you grew up watching, but what makes this film undeniably brilliant is the chemistry and believable performances from all the main cast.
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A young Gordon-Levitt is perfect playing the role of the lovestruck puppy pining after a girl who doesn’t yet see him as he wants her to.
His best mate, Michael, played by a young David Krumholtz (who you might remember from last year’s Oppenheimer) also provides much of the comedy and explanation for the high school dynamics.
Most importantly, the chemistry between Ledger and Stiles is off the charts, both bringing their own twist to the two romantic leads.
Stiles’ character is more than a handful but is clearly intelligent, pretty, witty and defiant, forming a perfect pair for Ledger’s character who is charming, endearing and unruly.
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Now, if you think I'm simply lauding for a quintessentially 90’s school rom-com of yester-year... you might be onto something there.
But beyond that, the audience and critics seem to agree with me.
The film holds an impressive 71 percent on Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer and a 69 percent Audience Score after more than 250,000 ratings.
On IMDB, the flick films equally well with a score of 7.3/10 after more than 379,000 reviews.
So, give it a view for yourself and see if the story holds up in the dying rom-com genre.
Topics: Film and TV, Heath Ledger