Film review: A Long Way Down
Serious suicide movies can be hard to watch, but sometimes light-hearted suicide movies can be even worse. But it is not only the whimsical approach to the topic that is so appalling: A Long Way Down starts off in a fantasy land where the screenwriter never has to worry about credibility, and things just get worse from there.
With a morose voiceover that spells bad news for any but the most hardcore of amnesiacs, former morning TV presenter Martin Sharp (Pierce Brosnan), whom we see entering a building with a ladder and making his way up to the roof, recounts the night everything changed. It was New Year’s Eve, and he wanted to kill himself, but then he made friends on the rooftop with three other would-be suicides, and they all lived happily ever after.
But wait, it gets worse (not for them, though; only for the viewer). After their initial meeting, where we realize everyone decided to end their lives more or less exactly at the same time, they suddenly have a change of heart and decide to leave and never see each other again. A few minutes later, however, Martin, the only one with a car, randomly picks up the one in the street, then a few meters on, the next one, and — low and behold! — around the corner is the last one who can’t get home either.
It’s at this point, barely 10 minutes into the film, that it becomes clear the screenplay had committed suicide, and we will have to keep watching the corpse for the next 85 minutes.
To read the full review, visit The Prague Post. A Long Way Down is currently on wide release in Bulgaria.
