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22 March 2014 Film of Choice at The Plaza Tonight - A Long Way Down. From the best selling book by Nick Hornby (as usual unread by me), this film charts the lives for four would be suicide victims one New Year's Eve. Meeting on the roof of a building they rescue each other and form a pact to stay alive until Valentine's Day! This looked good from the trailer. Starring Pierce Brosnan, Toni Collette, Imogen Poots and Aaron Paul it promised to be an amusing yet touching story of how these four completely different lives came together and although I didn't find it terribly amusing, I didn't feel I'd wasted an evening. I rather felt that I'd been reading a book that although wasn't the most gripping, was however a book I was unable to put down. It's the sort of film you would probably watch on a rainy day with a nice hot cup of cocoa. Always nice to see Pierce Brosnan on the big screen!

A comedy about 4 people who are suicidal, sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it? Well, this is the issue dealt in this light hearted comedy & drama.

It was a New Year's Eve at the top of a building, the ideal suicide spot that these four individuals encountered one another. Somehow their presence provided a barrier to their urge and since they survived that night, they kept in touch and tried to encourage one another...in life.

The makers of this film must have faced a challenge in how to deal with a dramatic issue (suicide) but convey it in a semi comical tone without appearing to ridicule such a serious issue.

Thus, through the chance encounter our characters realised slowly that they have something to live for and that beauty can be found in purpose and togetherness and in that problems can be faced rather than avoided taking the easy way out.

Whilst I stand by my 'light-hearted' remark earlier, this is not to say that it is shallow. It deals with a very sombre matter but even such matters can be approached from a humorous angle.

Had no idea what this film was when I decided to watch it on Netflix and was pleasantly surprised by how attached I became to the subject matter, the characters and the story.

Brosnan is a disgraced TV personalty and decides to commit suicide by jumping off the top of a building on New Year's Eve. While up there, he meets 3 other people, played by Toni Collette, Aaron Paul and Imogen Poots, all there to do the same thing. None of them commit the act and instead form a weird bond between each other. A pact is made not to commit suicide until the next "popular" suicide date, which is Valentine's Day. Dark subject matter, I know.

Despite the content of the film involving topics such as cancer, suicide, underage sex and other questionable character choices, the film balances this topics interestingly enough to keep it rather light. It never became too dark, nor too comedic. It walked a fine line of genuine trust in the characters. I found myself attached to each one, their faults, their quirks and liked them all. Imogen Poots has the hardest task of playing the "wild card" character. This character can sometimes become irritatingly annoying and I can see some people thinking her performance here is just that, but I found it oddly charming and real. She's a young girl who yearns to be loved and can't find it. She's lost, she feels alone and she turns to uncomfortable humour as a shield to hide her true feelings. I felt that her character had the most demons and she came off as the most interesting.

The film is broken up into four segments and each segment is from one of the characters POV. At first I was afraid that it was going to be one of those films that played the same event multiple times from different character perspectives, but was relieved when that was not the case.

The film fails to use the supporting cast effectively. Sam Neil is only in a few select scenes and Rosamund Pike is in one very uncomfortable one. Couldn't help but feel that their talents were slightly wasted here. I had no idea this film was based on a book, thus had nothing to hold it against. There seems to be a lot of hate towards it, but I was genuinely interested from start to finish.

Review: I quite enjoyed this witty drama which has something for everyone. On one side it's a deep drama because the 4 characters all have there own reasons to commit suicide but on the other side it's a enjoyable comedy because they all end up coming together and help each other through there individual problems. The fact they the 4 different characters end up on the roof on New Years Eve at exactly the same time was a bit weird, but each actor was very realistic and they really showed emotion. The chemistry between the characters was great and the director put the storyline together well but I do think that the movie could have been a bit better if there was a bit more depth to Pierce Brosnan's character. Enjoyable!

Round-Up: Since Pierce Brosnan has hanged up his Bond suit, he has starred in a wide range of movies which. From singing in Mamma Mia, which was a total shock, to The Matador and Seraphim Falls, he has proved that he hasn't become type casted like many other actors in Hollywood. Aaron Paul comes fresh from Breaking Bad and has starred in Need For Speed which also stars Imogen Poots as his love interest. His acting style is very limited but it works in the roles that he has picked since Breaking Bad. Hopefully he will flourish in his next roles. Toni Collette is one of those actors that can take on any role that gets put in front of her. After her famous role in Muriel's Wedding, she has gone from strength to strength and I can't see this role damaging her career because she had the most emotional storyline to deal with. Basically, all of the actors put in a great performance and it was great to see Sam Neill back on the big screen.

Budget: N/A Worldwide Gross: $7million

I recommend this movie to people who are into there emotional comedic dramas about 4 individuals who have there own reason to commit suicide. 6/10

I went to the movie with no idea what I was about to see. Genuinely had no idea about the plot and had no expectations at all.

Given the above I loved it. While it was entertaining and had that specific British humor which I find nice, it also had some powerful moments.

At the end it made me think about the kind of problems people face in their lives without making me sad like most of the movies that cover similar topics. I'm glad I went to it. Well spent money.

I would advice the audience to just see it like I did - without even checking the plot and the actors. Not knowing what it's all about made the experience a bit better in my opinion.