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Originally published January 26, 2012 at 12:03 AM | Page modified January 26, 2012 at 4:52 PM
Movie review
'Man on a Ledge': Clever premise not enough to prop up drama
A movie review of "Man on a Ledge," starring Sam Worthington in a convoluted, irrational story about an ex-cop and escaped convict trying to establish his innocence from a hotel window ledge while masterminding a robbery elsewhere.
Special to The Seattle Times
MYLES ARONOWITZ / AP
High drama, with Elizabeth Banks and Sam Worthington in "Man on a Ledge."
'Man on a Ledge,' with Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Ed Harris, Anthony Mackie, Edward Burns, Kyra Sedgwick, Jamie Bell, Genesis Rodriguez, William Sadler. Directed by Asger Leth, from a screenplay by Pablo F. Fenjves. 102 minutes. Rated PG-13 for violence and brief strong language. Several theaters.
It's an idea so simple, pure and cinematically challenging, Alfred Hitchcock might have loved it: How does an innocent man, standing on a hotel ledge high above the streets of Manhattan, prove he's innocent of a crime he didn't commit?
Let's add another essential Hitchcockian element: a strong (preferably blond) female character who believes the protagonist's claim, then becomes culpable in (and endangered by) his desperate actions. (Think "Rear Window.")
"Man on a Ledge" contains both those ideas and all their attendant promise of a good, intelligently suspenseful film with relationship insight. But it hasn't a clue what to do with its own potential, quickly dissolving into absurd logic.
An initially clever setup suggests the story is about an escaped convict (Sam Worthington) who books a hotel room, enjoys a last meal and then steps onto a ledge to jump to his death. But we eventually learn, along with a sympathetic police psychologist (Elizabeth Banks), that the would-be jumper, Nick, is a former cop whose threatened suicide is actually providing cover for actions elsewhere he hopes will clear his name.
That sounds interesting, but the moment Nick's real agenda is clear, whatever air is in this thing hisses out.
An extended subplot that looks like a bad, gadget-driven "Mission: Impossible" sequel rapidly wears thin. Ed Harris chews scenery while Jamie Bell and Genesis Rodriguez (in a crackling, lost-cause performance) are burdened with the chore of ill-advised comic relief. Nick's convoluted plans, especially a well- intended robbery that can't possibly aid his cause, really make no sense.
Noisy street crowds and an "Attica!" shoutout allude to Sidney Lumet's classic "Dog Day Afternoon," suggesting what "Ledge" director Asger Leth is hopelessly, vainly reaching for. But the story's resolution and a final scene, set in a cop bar irrationally full of goodwill given the circumstances, are so steeped in implausibility (and featuring a joke marred by ethical hypocrisy) as to see this movie fall, as if from a great height, into extreme silliness.
Tom Keogh: tomwkeogh@gmail.com
