A Long Way Down

It's boring as comedy and unbelievable as drama. I gave this movie a chance cause it was based on a Nick Hornby novel and stars Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul, hoping something different that the usual USA blockbuster comedy with good feelings and unbelievable happy endings.... Well, the usual blockbuster comedy at least has a few funny jokes here and there, this movie is boring, from the start to the end. The plot is uninteresting, the scenes are too long, the photography is mediocre, the acting is just decent. But the worst part of the movie is the ending that is so "happy" that, given the starting point of the movie, redefine the concept of "unbelievable happy ending"!

source: A Long Way Down

Review: I quite enjoyed this witty drama which has something for everyone. On one side it's a deep drama because the 4 characters all have there own reasons to commit suicide but on the other side it's a enjoyable comedy because they all end up coming together and help each other through there individual problems. The fact they the 4 different characters end up on the roof on New Years Eve at exactly the same time was a bit weird, but each actor was very realistic and they really showed emotion. The chemistry between the characters was great and the director put the storyline together well but I do think that the movie could have been a bit better if there was a bit more depth to Pierce Brosnan's character. Enjoyable! Round-Up: Since Pierce Brosnan has hanged up his Bond suit, he has starred in a wide range of movies which. From singing in Mamma Mia, which was a total shock, to The Matador and Seraphim Falls, he has proved that he hasn't become type casted like many other actors in Hollywood. Aaron Paul comes fresh from Breaking Bad and has starred in Need For Speed which also stars Imogen Poots as his love interest. His acting style is very limited but it works in the roles that he has picked since Breaking Bad. Hopefully he will flourish in his next roles. Toni Collette is one of those actors that can take on any role that gets put in front of her. After her famous role in Muriel's Wedding, she has gone from strength to strength and I can't see this role damaging her career because she had the most emotional storyline to deal with. Basically, all of the actors put in a great performance and it was great to see Sam Neill back on the big screen. Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: $7million I recommend this movie to people who are into there emotional comedic dramas about 4 individuals who have there own reason to commit suicide. 6/10

Pierce Brosnan stars with Toni Collette, Imogen Poots, and Aaron Paul in "A Long Way Down" from 2014. Brosnan plays a television celebrity, Martin, who was in prison for taking up with a woman who turned out to be a girl and not 25 as he thought. He was left with nothing, no career and no family. On New Year's Eve, he goes to a tall building, a well-known suicide place, to jump. While he's struggling with his decision to make the leap, he realizes he's not alone. Maureen (Collette) is waiting for him to finish so she can take her turn. Two other people, Jess (Poots) and JJ (Paul) show up. Popular place, popular time of year to kill oneself. Rather than do that, the four of them decide to support one another in what they're going through. When discussing when the next big suicide day is, they decide it's probably Valentine's Day. Martin wants to kill himself for obvious reasons, Maureen has a physically challenged son and she thinks if she kills herself, he will get better care. JJ says he has cancer. Jess has been rejected by her boyfriend. This is a funny, warm, uplifting comedy/drama. The acting is wonderful. It was so great to see Aaron Paul again after "Breaking Bad." Imogen Poots, the fragile Jess, is gorgeous and gives a poignant performance. As an added treat, her father is played by Sam Neill. Toni Collette is always good, and her scenes with her son were especially sweet. The scene at the hospital was very touching. You care about the characters finding their way. Highly recommended. The power of love - hard to beat it as a theme.

A Long Way Down (2014) There are a lot of films these days that set up this kind of comedy formula: an unlikely crisis forces strangers together, and they don't get along (at first). So you are dazzled by the odd circumstances, and by the funny ways people adjust. The plot then zigs and zags and eventually (of course) some or all of the main characters find their happiness. It's a good approach with the script sparkles and the acting is fun. "Chef" is a recent case, and even better is "We're the Millers." "A Long Way Down" can't match up to those in terms of wit and sheer fun. But it has moments that click, and it has a knock out performance by one of the four leads, Imogen Poots. See it for her alone. Of course the biggest name is the former James Bond player (often voted one of the worst to take on that role), Pierce Brosnan, and he's meant to be a dull, superficial type here, so he comes through naturally. Throw in the ever talented Toni Collette and you have a good cast. (The fourth is Aaron Paul.) The premise starts very fast, and is quite funny. In fact, I got my hopes ups that this was going to be a sizzling, truly great offbeat comedy just by the first ten minutes where it complicates quickly. You see, it's New Year's Eve and one of the four has gotten to the top of a tall London building and plans to jump. Then a second shows up and spoils his plans, and he decides to wait and let her jump so he can have the roof to himself. Then a third. And you see what is beginning to unfold. You get some backstory details that are just enough to make you see their problems— and also see that these are all really sympathetic characters. And of course they shouldn't be suicidal, not for real. There are further ups and downs as they help and then harm each other's emotional progress. And so on. I liked it. And I loved the performance by Poots, who just slashes through the crap and lights up the screen. Is this a brilliant movie—no. It's too much caught in the formula, so even the twists are expected. But I thought it was better than the reviews overall let on… you might give it a go. Expect some light entertainment and you might be quite happy watching.

The premise of this movie is unique and I found it very interesting. It's a movie that builds on it's characters and that is where I feel it's fatal flaw lies. The characters don't feel authentic, so the viewer never gets pulled into the story. Most of the supposedly touchy scenes are just unintentionally funny, which makes the whole movie feel very shallow. The longer the movie goes the worse it becomes until it reaches plain cheesy in the end. All that paired with a very foreseeable plot made the movie a pretty disappointing experience.

Enjoyable enough if slightly loopy comedy directed by Pascal Chaumeil, who was 1st AD on Leon and 2nd Unit on The Fifth Element, A Long Way Down is his third big screen directorial outing. The promise of another adaptation of a Nick Hornby novel is to be welcomed, however this is no High Fidelity. The cast is highly watchable and there are nice dynamics between Brosnan, Collette, Poots and Paul - but somehow the script never ignites and the laughs often feel forced. It's not entirely obvious where to point the finger. There are effective dramatic moments, but the lows don't seem quite low enough, whereas the highs feel a bit too easy to come by. In the end the film is perhaps not sure which tone to take, rendering certain character motivations unconvincing. This said, there are still many moments to enjoy, including good turns in support from Rosamund Pike and Sam Neil, but there's a good chance you would be just as happy watching High Fidelity again, seeking out Fever Pitch (not the US version) or, better yet, An Education.

This film was the most touching one I have seen in a very long time. The ratings just don't do it justice, the story line is amazing and the actors are even better, all the characters were brought to life. Everything that happened made you feel connected to the characters and they won't leave your hearts any time soon. It highlights some of the struggles that many people have to go through in society now and shows what happens when people are thrown into the spotlight. You feel a range of emotions, from being sad to happy, scared to joyous. I really enjoyed this and will be watching it many more times in the future. I would definitely recommend watching this, you'll love it.

Had no idea what this film was when I decided to watch it on Netflix and was pleasantly surprised by how attached I became to the subject matter, the characters and the story. Brosnan is a disgraced TV personalty and decides to commit suicide by jumping off the top of a building on New Year's Eve. While up there, he meets 3 other people, played by Toni Collette, Aaron Paul and Imogen Poots, all there to do the same thing. None of them commit the act and instead form a weird bond between each other. A pact is made not to commit suicide until the next "popular" suicide date, which is Valentine's Day. Dark subject matter, I know. Despite the content of the film involving topics such as cancer, suicide, underage sex and other questionable character choices, the film balances this topics interestingly enough to keep it rather light. It never became too dark, nor too comedic. It walked a fine line of genuine trust in the characters. I found myself attached to each one, their faults, their quirks and liked them all. Imogen Poots has the hardest task of playing the "wild card" character. This character can sometimes become irritatingly annoying and I can see some people thinking her performance here is just that, but I found it oddly charming and real. She's a young girl who yearns to be loved and can't find it. She's lost, she feels alone and she turns to uncomfortable humour as a shield to hide her true feelings. I felt that her character had the most demons and she came off as the most interesting. The film is broken up into four segments and each segment is from one of the characters POV. At first I was afraid that it was going to be one of those films that played the same event multiple times from different character perspectives, but was relieved when that was not the case. The film fails to use the supporting cast effectively. Sam Neil is only in a few select scenes and Rosamund Pike is in one very uncomfortable one. Couldn't help but feel that their talents were slightly wasted here. I had no idea this film was based on a book, thus had nothing to hold it against. There seems to be a lot of hate towards it, but I was genuinely interested from start to finish.

A comedy about 4 people who are suicidal, sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it? Well, this is the issue dealt in this light hearted comedy & drama. It was a New Year's Eve at the top of a building, the ideal suicide spot that these four individuals encountered one another. Somehow their presence provided a barrier to their urge and since they survived that night, they kept in touch and tried to encourage one another...in life. The makers of this film must have faced a challenge in how to deal with a dramatic issue (suicide) but convey it in a semi comical tone without appearing to ridicule such a serious issue. Thus, through the chance encounter our characters realised slowly that they have something to live for and that beauty can be found in purpose and togetherness and in that problems can be faced rather than avoided taking the easy way out. Whilst I stand by my 'light-hearted' remark earlier, this is not to say that it is shallow. It deals with a very sombre matter but even such matters can be approached from a humorous angle.