''A Long Way Down'' (originally titled ''Up & Down'') is a 2014

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

film directed by

Pascal Chaumeil Pascal Chaumeil (9 February 1961 – 27 August 2015) was a French director and screenwriter. He started out as an assistant director in the 1980s, working with directors such as Pierre Tchernia and Luc Besson. He was nominated for two César ...

, loosely based on author

Nick Hornby Nicholas Peter John Hornby (born 17 April 1957) is an English writer and lyricist. He is best known for his memoir ''Fever Pitch'' and novels '' High Fidelity'' and '' About a Boy'', all of which were adapted into feature films. Hornby's work f ...

's 2005 novel, ''

A Long Way Down ''A Long Way Down'' is a 2005 novel written by British author Nick Hornby. It is a dark comedy, playing off the themes of suicide, angst, depression and promiscuity. The story is written in the first-person narrative from the points of view ...

''. It stars

Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (; born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He is best known as the fifth actor to play secret agent James Bond in the Bond film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 (''GoldenEye'', ''Tomorrow ...

Toni Collette Toni Collette Galafassi (born Toni Collett; 1 November 1972) is an Australian actress, producer, singer, and songwriter. Known for her work in television and independent films, she has received various accolades throughout her career, includ ...

Imogen Poots Imogen Gay Poots (born 3 June 1989) is an English actress and model. She played Tammy in the post-apocalyptic horror film '' 28 Weeks Later'' (2007), Linda Keith in the Jimi Hendrix biopic '' Jimi: All Is by My Side'' (2013), Debbie Raymond in ...

, and

Aaron Paul Aaron Paul (born Aaron Paul Sturtevant; August 27, 1979) is an American actor best known for portraying Jesse Pinkman in the AMC series '' Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013), for which he won several awards, including the Critics' Choice Television ...

as four strangers who meet on the roof of a

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

building on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

, each with the intent of dying by suicide. Their plans for death in solitude are ruined when they meet as they decide to come down from the roof alive, however temporary that may be. The film received mostly negative reviews, with criticism of the source material and the film's cast.

Plot

Martin Sharp (

) is contemplating suicide on New Year's Eve on the roof of the Toppers Building, high above London's streets. He is interrupted by a woman, Maureen (

), who has the same fate in mind. She shyly offers to wait her turn, until two other strangers, a young woman named Jess (

) and a pizza deliverer called J.J. (

), also turn up. Martin is recognised by the others, having been a popular television personality before going to prison for a relationship with a girl who turned out to be 15. After talking things over, the four strangers form a pact, vowing to wait at least until

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...

before again attempting suicide. Maureen has a disabled son she adores, but little life beyond that. Jess is the daughter of a politician (

Sam Neill Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand actor. Neill's near-50 year career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he has been regarded as one o ...

) and their relationship is strained. J.J. is an American who once played in a band, but while his three new acquaintances are suicidally depressed, he claims that he is terminally ill with cancer. To profit from misfortune, Martin hatches a scheme that makes them the talk of London, claiming their mass suicide was interrupted by a vision. They end up on his old TV chat show, where Martin's former co-host Penny (

Rosamund Pike Rosamund Mary Ellen Pike (born 1979) is a British actress. She began her acting career by appearing in stage productions such as ''Romeo and Juliet'' and ''Gas Light''. After her screen debut in the television film ''A Rather English Marriage'' ...

) makes her guests feel humiliated and even more depressed. The four go on vacation to get away from London's attention. They enjoy each other's company, until it is revealed that J.J.'s claim about cancer was a lie and the intervention of a journalist named Kathy (

Tuppence Middleton Tuppence Middleton (born 21 February 1987) is an English actress known for her performances in film, television and theatre. In 2010, she was nominated for the ''London Evening Standard'' Film Awards for Most Promising Newcomer. Middleton appea ...

) drives them apart. After the vacation, the four resume their lives. When Maureen's son Matty suffers a heart attack, Jess and Martin visit Maureen in the hospital but J.J. cannot be contacted. They realise it is Valentine's Day and that their pact has ended. All four end up back in London on the very same rooftop with the other three coaxing J.J. off the edge successfully. On New Year's Eve that year, they video call each other. Martin is looking after his daughter, Maureen is enjoying herself at a New Year's party, and J.J. and Jess are in a happy relationship.

Cast

as Martin Sharp *

as Maureen Thompson *

as Jess Crichton *

as J.J. Maguire *

as Penny *

as Minister Crichton *

as Kathy Miller *

Joe Cole Joseph John Cole (born 8 November 1981) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or winger in the Premier League, Ligue 1, League One and United Soccer League. He is regarded as one ...

as Chas Johnson *

Josef Altin Josef Altin (born as Yusuf Altın; 12 February 1983) is a British television and film actor who had the role of Pypar in the HBO fantasy TV series ''Game of Thrones''. Other notable performances is his role as Ekrem in ''Eastern Promises'' and ...

as Maureen's son Matty

Production

Brosnan has stated that TV presenter

Richard Madeley Richard Holt Madeley ( born 13 May 1956) is an English television presenter and writer. Alongside his wife Judy Finnigan, he presented '' This Morning'' and the chat show '' Richard & Judy''. Madeley's solo projects include the ITV series '' F ...

was an inspiration to him in playing the role. While reading the script for the film in the '' Colombe D'Or'' restaurant in

Saint-Paul-de-Vence Saint-Paul-de-Vence (, literally ''Saint-Paul of Vence''; oc, Sant Pau de Vença; it, San Paolo di Venza) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. One of the oldest medie ...

, Brosnan stated that he saw Madeley and his wife

Judy Finnigan Judith Adele Finnigan (born 16 May 1948) is an English television presenter and writer. She co-presented ITV's '' This Morning'' (1988–2001, 2019–) and the Channel 4 chat show, ''Richard & Judy'' (2001–2008) alongside her husband Richard ...

and later said, "I think it's his sheer ebullience and enthusiasm. You have to be almost shamanic to do it, really, and really believe in yourself. And it's a thin line between being affable and being really annoying. So it takes a brave soul, really."

Release

The film premiered at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival on 10 February 2014.

Reception

''A Long Way Down'' received negative reviews from critics. Review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reported an approval rating of 22%, based on 50 reviews, with an average score of 4.2/10. The site's consensus reads, "Tonally jumbled and conceptually ill-advised, ''A Long Way Down'' bungles its source material and wastes a talented cast." At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 34, based on 21 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". In 2015, the film won a Voice Award from the American

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA; pronounced ) is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is charged with improving the quality and availability of treatment and rehabilitative services ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Long Way Down, A (film) 2014 films 2014 comedy-drama films British black comedy films British comedy-drama films Films scored by Dario Marianelli Films about suicide Films about television people Films based on British novels Films based on works by Nick Hornby Films directed by Pascal Chaumeil Films set in London Films with screenplays by Jack Thorne Lionsgate films Films set around New Year 2014 black comedy films Films about depression 2010s English-language films 2010s British films