Man on a Ledge, directed by Asger Leth, does not live up to the standards set for the suspenseful movies in this time. The lackluster attempts at shocking viewers failed at every opportunity. Even though Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington) occupies the ledge for a majority of the movie it falls short in trying to convince the viewer that Cassidy may actually jump.
“Man on a Ledge” is a tremendously lacking thriller about Nick Cassidy, an ex-cop who was thrown in jail after being framed of the theft of an expensive diamond by a buisnessman named David Englander (Ed Harris). After escaping from jail he attempts to prove his innocence by climbing out onto the ledge of the Roosevelt hotel. Meawhile, his brother Joey Cassidy (Jamie Bell) and Joey’s girlfriend Angie (Genesis Rodriguez) are down the street breaking into Englander’s vault in order to find the diamond while Nick tries to distract the rest of New York from what is really going on. Elizabeth Banks plays Lydia Mercer, the outcast woman cop sent in to convince Nick not to jump, but later finds there is more going on than she and everyone else might think.
The movie, taking place mostly on the ledge, has a moment of thrill at the beginning; however, it is difficult to keep such a small space entertaining. Worthington was not up to the challenge of keeping the ledge continuously interesting; about twenty minutes after he walked out, the thrill died. Shots looking down the ledge can work for a short period of time, but they cannot hold up an hour and 42 minute movie. Unfotunately, although the conversation between Nick and Lydia is entertaining at times, it cannot improve the already lacking film.
Director Asger Leth does attempt to include more action when putting Angie and Joey up to the task of finding the evidence to prove Nick’s innocence. One of the positives in this movie was the comedic banter between Joey and Angie as they make their way through Englander’s offices. The pair have good chemistry, and their bickering brings a few laughs to an otherwise dull movie. However, their using Angie’s body as a focal point in many camera shots is a sad attempt to keep viewer’s interest.
In many cases, this film was not very believable. At one point when Nick is on the ledge the crowd below screams “Jump!”. It is doubtful that thousands of spectators would tell a man to kill himself. Also, the only point in the movie where it seems like someone may fall actually off the building is when Joey is almost thrown off by Dante Marcus (Titus Welliver) a bad cop working with Englander. Another fault is found in the inaccuracy of the setting. Nick is supposed to be standing on a ledge on the 20th floor of the Roosevelt; however, the real Roosevelt has a ledge on the 17th but not the 20th.
Overall the movie was sadly missing the promised thrills and did not have strong enough acting to hold it up. The attention to detail was slightly lacking leaving it unconvincing. Although there were some entertaining moments, it was rather dull as a whole. Categorized as a suspenseful movie, “Man on a Ledge” has a noticeable scarcity of anything of that sort.
