A Long Way Down, based on the novel by Nick Hornby, is about four strangers who meet atop the roof of Topper’s House on New Years Eve, determined to end their lives. Together they form a surrogate family and make a pact to not kill themselves until Valentine’s Day.
I’ve been waiting a ridiculously long time to watch this movie, and for brief moments during that time I was worried that, when I finally watched it, all the bad reviews I’d glanced upon would be right. I’m so glad I didn’t listen to them. This is a lovely little film about love, loss, friendship, hopelessness, hardship, and finding the right people to keep you going in life despite all those things.
Maybe I’m biased, seeing as I’m already a huge fan of Aaron and Imogen’s acting in absolutely anything they do, but I feel like this movie was perfectly casted. I couldn’t imagine anyone else in the role of J.J. or Maureen or Jess or Martin. It may just be because I liked the actors prior to this, or maybe just because it was acted out in front of me rather than on the pages, but I felt like they brought something a little extra to these characters that made them far more likable to watch than to read.
Jess, who was probably my least favorite in the book, much to my surprise became my favorite in the movie. She was still totally obnoxious and rude, but brought to life on the screen by Imogen Poots, I found myself sympathizing with her probably the most out of any of them. Her scenes of awkwardly trying to thank them for caring about her as she fights tears and tries to bring them all together were just flawlessly acted and made me want to reach through the screen and hug her as tightly as I could.
Aaron Paul was wonderful to watch, as usual. If there was any performance in this movie that I knew I would love, it was his as J.J. He and Imogen held my attention throughout every second they graced on my computer screen. Even though he’s the only one without a specific reason for wanting to kill himself, his speech on the rooftop left me heartbroken, and it makes the point that you don’t have to have just ONE big reason. Having a lot of little things to deal with or not knowing your place in life can be just as hard as the “bigger” reasons.
“You can solve your problems, but me, I can’t. Look, I’m just- I’m just tired. Of uh, being scared all the time, not knowing why. I’m tired of being- trying to change and not knowing how. You know, leaving my latest shit band, moving countries… because however much I do… change… I’m left with me.”
Toni Collette was a perfect Maureen, imitating her timid, sweet demeanor exactly as I pictured her in the book.
Pierce Brosnan was equally as great as Martin, who I disliked, but still enjoyed his constant eyerolling bitterness about everything.
One problem people with the negative reviews seem to have with this movie is it’s unlikable characters. Having read the book, I’d like to point out that they’re just being true to how the characters actually are. In the book, they’re not that likable. In fact, I hardly liked any of them while reading, but that didn’t stop me from liking the story itself that Hornby was trying to tell. There seems to be this idea that every book or movie has to involve characters that you absolutely love to make it enjoyable. Though of course it’s nice to have someone to root for from time to time, it’s not really that necessary to still get the story across. Not everyone in the world is completely likable, so why would every character be?
Though it was by no means a perfect adaptation, I thoroughly enjoyed this film from start to finish and how much it changed from the pages to the movie. If you’re expecting it to be exactly like the book, it’s not. There are many noticeable changes, but I feel it was much better done this way than sticking exactly to it and bringing in ALL of the random details. I liked the book, but it was still pretty bleak (obviously, given the main topic of it), and I think the changes here and there combined with the great cast just pulled it together better. I especially loved the ending, how it was so much more hopeful than how the book ended, even while dealing with such a grim, difficult topic such as suicide. I really adored how Jess and J.J. ended up together. They had so much chemistry throughout the film that I kept hoping they would just put them together, despite knowing it didn’t happen in the book, and I was glad they did. Cause, I mean, look at them.
My only complaint is that the scene where they are up on the rooftop again and they see the man jump wasn’t in the movie. Maybe that’s a little twisted, but I would have loved to see how this group of brilliant actors would have acted out the pure shock of seeing something like that, given that earlier in the movie, that might have been their fate.
RATING: 4 GHOSTIES
scripting specter 