Director: Pascal Chaumeil
Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Toni Collette, Imogen Poots, Aaron Paul
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Martin, Jess, Maureen and JJ meet in the most unlikely of circumstances – as they prepare to jump off a bridge to their death on New Year’s Eve. Despite that opener, A LONG WAY DOWN is not nearly as depressing as you might think, and the cast have a lot to do with it. Based on the gorgeous book by Nick Hornby, this superb story, full of heart and humour, is taken to the big screen under the watchful eye of French director Pascal Chaumeil.
The four main cast are played by Pierce Brosnan, Toni Collette, Imogen Poots and Aaron Paul and each person has their own reasons for being up there. So when they persuade each other to make a pact and not try again until Valentine’s Day, the way they head back to the life they had before is bound to differ. When their story makes the papers, all four of them are thrust into the limelight.
It’s the kind of film that perhaps – without the four main cast members on board – would have disappeared into obscurity. It’s cute and nice and has real emotion but somehow the depth and magic of the book is lost in the film adaptation. That said, it does have this cast and thankfully each of them are so talented that the characters manage to avoid being quite as 2D as the film might have expected. Poots, in particular, is enchanting and unnerving as the loose canon of the four, full of drama and theatrics but bringing the brutal honesty when it’s needed. She does such a great job at keeping up the front that Jess has spent so long perfecting that when she lets that guard down just slightly, you see Jess’s vulnerability without it ever being overplayed.
Some moments, especially the ghostly Matt Damon story, are so very ridiculous that it makes it hard to stay on board consistently for the duration of the film but when it’s good, it’s so good that you can’t help but be drawn back in. It’s all a little too disjointed and never really allows enough time for the right amount of depth to come through.
The above average cast and the incomparable Hornby humour/heart combination take this average, somewhat superficial film just that little bit higher.
Special Features: Deleted scenes and outtakes include shots of Aaron Paul spraying himself with water and struggling with a bike lock, Toni Collette revealing her potty mouth and much more. There’s also a really interesting deleted scene which shows more to Martin’s past as his wife pays a visit to Maureen.
[usr=3] A LONG WAY DOWN is available to buy from July 28th, pick up a copy here!
