Film File - Man On A Ledge
by John Daly Updated: Wednesday, 8th February, 2012 4:58pm
Sam Worthington is a man on edge - literally - as he seeks to prove his innocence of a crime in the thriller 'Man On A Ledge'.
Hard not to be aware of this one given the big TV advertising campaign ahead of its opening.
In the best traditions of Hollywood, encapsulating a film's entire impact in one succinct sentence is often the difference between getting the green light and the purgatory of pre-production hell.
In the case of this thriller, it's easy to imagine how the four-word title said it all for whatever producer took the meeting and gave it the thumbs-up. Mixing that 'what would you do?' scenario with a dramatic plot, the story forces a desperate man into making a life-threatening move to prove his innocence after he is framed for the theft of a rare diamond.
The film begins with an unidentified man in a business suit, coming out of a New York subway and getting a room at the Roosevelt Hotel in midtown Manhattan, and who then proceeds to order a meal, complete with champagne and lobster. He then writes a note and steps out onto the ledge of his hotel room.
The behaviour of a desperate man, another victim of the recession who picks the only way he knows to end it all? Not quite. Cut to a prison scene where the man on the ledge, Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington), once a NYPD officer, is now a convict, sentenced to 25 years for a crime he didn't commit.
Cassidy admits to being suicidal to the prison's psychiatrist and unable to handle his time for the crime for which he was found guilty. While Cassidy was picking up some extra cash moonlighting as part of the escort of the rare and expensive Monarch Diamond, the gem is stolen and businessman David Englander (Ed Harris) frames the hapless cop for its disappearance, putting him behind bars for 25 years and allowing Englander to collect the insurance on the diamond. Nasty.
When Cassidy is granted compassionate leave to attend his father's funeral, an elaborate escape plan unfolds, allowing the disgraced ex-cop a glimpse of freedom and the reason why he's now on the ledge. The story gets further complicated with the arrival of NYPD negotiator, Lydia Mercer (Elizabeth Banks), a controversial figure within the force, having recently lost a 'jumper' who was one of their own and who has more than a passing acquaintance with Cassidy.
Add in Cassidy's brother Joey (Jamie Bell) and his girlfriend Angie (Genesis Rodriguez), operating in an unknown agenda and hiding in another location close by to the ledge that's now surrounded by media and curious New Yorkers, and you've got an interesting stew of possibilities.
If you get a vicarious thrill from heights, 'Man On A Ledge' will keep you glued to its action from start to finish as the risk of falling 21 stories to the unforgiving sidewalk is ever present.
Debut feature director Asgar Leth keeps up the tension right through, aided by a screenplay with perhaps a few too many red herrings from Pablo F Fenjves. The basic success of Cassidy's plan to redeem himself rests on one too many coincidences - nothing new in that, and something audiences will have to suspend their disbelief about.
Mixing frequent camera angles showing how close to death he is on the ledge, the machinations of the bad guys, led by Harris, and the good ones, led by Bell, rumble along as Worthington eats his bagel in full view of the Big Apple.
There are, undoubtedly, more holes in this than a Swiss cheese, but the film's assured execution from Leth and a decent cast that also includes Ed Burns and Kyra Sedgewick makes it just about worth your time and expense.
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