REVIEW – MAN ON A LEDGE

MAN ON A LEDGE
Directed by: Asger Leth
Written by: Pablo F. Fenjves
Starring: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Ed Harris, Jamie Bell, Anthony Mackie, Genesis Rodriguez, Ed Harris, Titus Welliver, and Kyra Sedgewick

The title just about says it all. There’s a man and he’s on a ledge. However, unlike what the studio would like you to believe, there’s not that much more to the story. This is a superficial non-thriller that defies both logic and common sense. And sadly, not even in a fun entertaining way.

Our story begins with a man renting a room at New York City’s swanky Roosevelt Hotel. He orders lobster, french fries and Moet champagne for breakfast (I like his style!) and then out the window and onto that titular ledge he goes! But why? Turns out the unidentified man is Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington), an ex-cop and ex-con who is out to clear his name. You see, he was framed by the villainous billionaire business tycoon David Englander (Ed Harris) and a few crooked cops in his department. You know David’s evil because he smashes fine watches and says stuff like, “If somebody takes something from you, you take more back!” While Nick is both physically and emotionally out on a ledge (#clever #notclever), his supportive brother Joey (Jamie Bell) and his Latina spitfire girlfriend (Genesis Rodriguez, whose job it is to say sassy stuff in Spanish and be objectified in her bra and panties) break into Englander’s vaults in order to find the evidence that will exonerate Nick. On his side is guilt-stricken NYPD negotiator Lydia Mercer (Elizabeth Banks), who is also seeking redemption after she wasn’t able to save her last jumper. It’s a redemption story within a redemption story! (#clever #notclever) But can this ragtag team clear Nick’s sullied name, or will he be forced to jump?

One of the main problems I have with MAN ON A LEDGE is the audience is always five steps ahead of the characters, rendering plot twists and turns unbelievable and utterly ridiculous. Everything feels like one setup after the next. And let’s not even discuss that completely unnecessary epilogue tagged onto the end, done under the assumption we even care what happens to these characters after the main event is over.

The screenplay by Pablo F. Fenjves (whose prior credits include numerous TV movies), seems to be a product of some kind of script generator that created this formulaic, paint-by-numbers plot. There’s no sense of immediacy, urgency, or even authenticity in the script nor in the direction by documentary filmmaker Asger Leth. The lone positive I can find is Worthington – who has a fear of heights in real life – legitimately looks frightened to be up twenty two floors on such a relatively short ledge. Unfortunately for the audience, the filmmakers never quite convey that real sense of height and real sense of danger. There are no tricky camera moves that play with your senses or make you feel like you too are suffering from vertigo. They only insist on telling us over and over again that Nick is on the 21^st floor. Don’t just tell us – show us! Make us feel that we’re right up on that 14-inch ledge with him.

At its best, this is manufactured mediocre garbage that mass market audiences will unfortunately respond to (and did during my screening). Had the concept been placed in the right hands (cough, cough, a great screenwriter and capable director), this could have transcended it’s schlocky title instead of playing into and – worse – below it. Dare I suggest they could have tapped into the story’s noir-ish roots in order to make this a modern day cult classic? Perhaps akin to a character driven drama from the sixties. But coulda, shoulda, woulda… these are the cards we’ve been dealt.