The Gist:
Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington) is a man that has nothing to lose. He has just asked from prison (he is serving a 25 year sentence) and now stands on the 21st floor of a New York building. Worse still is the fact that the Detective responsible with talking him down, Lydia Mercer (Elizabeth Banks) is still recovering from her last jumper. While the Police soon work out that Nick is trying to clear his name, they don’t realise that his brother, Joey (Jamie Bell) as well as Angie (Genesis Rodriguez) are also part of the plan.
The Review:
If you haven’t already seen the trailer for Man On A Ledge whatever you do don’t go looking for it as this is one film that you really need to know nothing about when you start to view. As far as thrillers go this is one of the best to surface over the last few years and even better still, it’ll keep you guessing from start to and finish and looks great on the big screen as well.
Everything comes together brilliantly to make Man On A Ledge a truly memorable film. Firstly, Pablo F. Fenjives’ screenplay is an absolute beauty. Sure there are some really small holes in his script but overall he has produced a script that keeps the audience on the edge of their seat with some amazing twists and turns and he is one screenwriter who has remembered the importance of characterization. Even though he wants to keep things about Nick secret, you certainly can’t say that you don’t get to know him.
Secondly, director, Asger Leth shows true class. It has hard to fathom that this is actually his first time in the director’s seat of a feature film. He captures some truly amazing shots, so good in fact that in the screening I was in some people found themselves suffering from some mild vertigo. Leth is one director who you feel has a massive future ahead of him.
And last but not least Man On A Ledge is made a great watch by some good acting performances. You could forgive Worthington for wanting to take the action star approach to this film, but instead he mixes all aspects of genre together with some truly dramatic moments spliced with some breathtaking stunts. He is also well supported by Elizabeth Banks who reminds everyone she is still capable of some great performances.
The Verdict:
Man On A Ledge is certainly not your average run-of-a-mill thriller. No it goes a lot further than that. This is one film that can boast suspense by the bucket load and for once you’ll actually find yourselves on the edge of your seat… something that really should be happening in more thrillers if their filmmakers actually knew what they were doing. The fact that the film also finds time to take a bit of a swipe at American society may not impress some viewers but does show that at least there are still some films out there that isn’t scared to try and carry some kind of important message.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWSdm4K-9_0
Director: Asger Leth
Stars: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, Genesis Rodriguez, Ed Harris
Classification: 12A
Running time: 102 mins
Release Date: 11th June 2012
Formats: DVD, Blu-Ray
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