Title: Man on a Ledge (2012) Original UK Release Date: 3rd February 2012
Original US Release Date: 27th January 2012
UK Rating: 12
US Rating: PG-13
Director: Asger Leth
Genre: Crime/Thriller
Plot: A former police officer is convicted of a diamond theft. Maintaining his innocence he escapes and threatens to jump from a ledge high up on the side of a Manhattan hotel. A police psychologist tries to talk him down while his family try to prove his innocence.
Mike's Review
I didn’t know much about this film prior to seeing
it. I saw a trailer a while ago but didn’t really remember much about it. It stars
Sam Worthington who,
since Avatar
(2009) came out, seems to be the man of the moment.
The
film starts with former cop Nick Cassidy in prison and his final appeal is
turned down. When an opportunity presents itself he escapes, checks in to a
hotel and climbs out of the window and stands on the ledge. A crowd soon grows
in the street below waiting to see if he will jump. However this is soon
revealed to be a distraction for his family to find a way to prove his
innocence in a diamond theft.
The
film is a lot better than the premise. This is mainly due to the great job done
by the cast which includes Sam Worthington, Anthony
Mackie,
Jamie Bell,
Genesis Rodriguez, Titus
Welliver,
Elizabeth Banks, Ed Harris & William Sadler. Each plays their
respective roles perfectly. Ed
Harris is great as the villain and Jamie
Bell
& Genesis Rodriguez add a perfect amount of humour to the film. Jamie
Bell
has come a long way since his debut role as Billy Elliot, the dancing teenager
in the 2000 film of the same name. In this he shines as Joey Cassidy, the
brother of Sam Worthington’s character, easily the stand out role of the movie.
The film is really well made. The
exterior shots look great on the big screen giving you a vertigo inducing feel
when looking down from the ledge. Nothing seems too farfetched and the tension
builds slowly during the film giving you an edge of the seat feel during the
climax. You know good will always prevail in the end, but there are plenty of
moments when you forget this and feel the peril of the characters.
This is a movie well worth just over 100
minutes of your time. Time that doesn’t feel wasted and, after not expecting
much, turns out to be a highly enjoyable movie.
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