Director: Matthew Chapman
Starring: Terence Howard, Charlie Hunnam, Liv Tyler, Patrick Wilson
Running Time: 96 minutes approx
Certificate: 15
Extras: Making of The Ledge: with Patrick Wilson, Terence Howard and Charlie Hunnam, Trailer
Adultery is a tricky subject; on the one hand you have a heinous, selfish act and on the other you have a deeper meaning: unhappiness. THE LEDGE (2011) looks at philandery and its effects on those involved starting off with Gavin (Hunnam – TV’s THE SONS OF ANARCHY) climbing onto a ledge with a remit: jump at 12 noon or your lover will be killed.
From writer/director Matthew Chapman (RUNAWAY JURY) the film is surprisingly complex and – you could argue – controversial in its execution; told almost entirely in flashback, we learn Gavin’s story, his affair with Shana (Tyler), and his relationship with her husband Joe (Wilson, on film-stealing form) all the while being drawn into Detective Hollis’ (Howard) life that’s been thrown into turmoil as he tries to talk Gavin down.
THE LEDGE has a lot going for it: Wilson is excellent as the god-worshipping Joe, Hunnam is solid and Howard, as always, is very watchable and sympathetic. On the flip-side you have a clunky script built almost entirely on rhetorical questions that are given one word answers. And there’s also Liv Tyler: the Making Of feature details the film was shot sequentially, it would appear that as filming began Tyler thought ‘can’t be bothered here, this looks a bit rubbish’ to realising half way through that actually, the film’s decent. Another minor gripe is the amount of Christian bashing that takes place; Joe is often seen to be gay-bashing or hating on any other faith and Gavin, the atheist, is portrayed as the clear voice of reason – this may explain why the film opened on such limited release in the US.
For a film with such a simple premise it is pleasing to write that THE LEDGE surpassed expectations, the first half is quite ponderous and the affair is danced around for a bit too long, but other than this the film is very enjoyable -helped by Wilson and Hunnam. It’s not going to change your world but is preferable to its big budget turd of a cousin MAN ON A LEDGE (2012).
Extras: The making of is reasonably informative, but only gives me the impression that Terence Howard is a bit of a diva and Hunnam is happy to be working in film; Wilson tries to sell the film as a thriller, which it most certainly is not. The Trailer is exactly that, why you’d want to watch the trailer for a film you’ve just watched is mistifying.
THE LEDGE is released on Blu-ray and DVD 16th April 2012
