Movies like Man On a Ledge make it tough to continue defending the month of January, generally considered the worst for movies of the entire year. It's not that it's a terrible film. There's a certain charm to a film that packs as many extreme coincidences and improbabilities in such a compact timespan. Silly can be good, and Man On A Ledge is definitely silly and inventive at times. But a lack of genuine mystery hamstrings the novel concept right from the start. Yet the biggest problem has nothing to do with the writing or Asger Leth's direction, it has to do with two little words: Sam. Worthington.
The Aussie actor who struck it big playing cyborg in Terminator Salvation, then was most effective as a 7-foot CGI smurf in Avatar, continues to whiff badly when playing actual human beings. Here he's Nick Cassady, a fugitive who uses his momentary release to attend a funeral as an opportunity to escape custody. Proclaiming himself innocent the whole way, Nick doesn't try to leave the country, instead he makes the odd decision to check into a swanky hotel, order some expensive room service, then steps out onto the ledge. This being New York you can expect two things to occur: 1. That it'll draw an audience looking to capture literal fall from grace on their Iphones. And 2. That Ed Burns will turn up in some capacity.
Burns plays a hard nosed hostage negotiator, but he is quickly turned away by Nick who only wants to speak with Lydia Mercer(Elizabeth Banks). Why? She's a negotiator who recently suffered a very public failure, and for whatever reason Nick sees in her a kindred spirit. Or at least someone who will listen to him prattle on about his innocence for a few hours. He tells her that he was falsely convicted of his crimes, set up by a shady corporate tycoon(Ed Harris) for unknown reasons. Does Nick have any proof? Nope. But that's where Nick's brother(Jamie Bell) and his sexy girlfriend(Genesis Rodriguez) come into play, as they're leading a heist right across the street that will get them the evidence they need. With all of the cops attentions on Nick and his constant(and empty) threats to jump, the scheme should go off without a hitch.
The script by Pablo Fenjves(best known as writer of O.J. Simpson's book, If I Did It) juggles a number of characters, each with their own motives and angles to play, and most are interesting to watch for various reasons. Anthony Mackie is solid as Nick's former partner, whose interest in the situation goes beyond simple concern for his friend's physical well-being. But there's a major problem when every other element works other than the one we're supposed to care about the most, and for various reasons it's impossible to get invested in Nick's predicament.
For one, the story should have been mapped out differently. With it's confined setting and "who's pulling the strings" aura, it shares a thematic bond with a film like Phone Booth, but doesn't compare to matching that film's tension and commitment to unique adversities. There's never any doubt that Nick is never going to jump off that ledge. He tells us so practically from the beginning. So once that question is answered, why do we even care about his interactions with Lydia, most of which amount to her trying to convince him not to leap to his doom. We should never have been made aware of the crime Nick is covering for. Saving that revelation for later in the film would have been an emphatic twist nobody would have seen coming.
And then there's Worthington, an actor with less charisma than he has control of his American accent. Dude, just be Australian and stick with it, ok? He just doesn't have the presence to carry a film that requires the audience to stick with him for any length of time. His attempt to make us believe Nick's desperation is never believable. He's better suited to stuff like Clash of the Titans, where he can match empty looks with green screened scorpions giant Krakens. When the film starts to get really crazy and unbelievable towards the finale, Worthington is easily in his element. He's a natural, athletic actor and a capable action star. If this was a film that required more of those talents, he'd be perfect.
Man On A Ledge would've been better served with a more gifted actor in the demanding lead role. Jamie Bell, who has the bulk of the film's best lines, would have been a smarter fit, and one that would've kept this film from falling flat.
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