If This Plot Were On A Ledge, I'd Tell It To Jump

The best parts of "Man on a Ledge" play sort of like the best parts of "The Negotiator" or "Phone Booth." However, what all three of the films have in common is that there aren't very many best parts. "Man on a Ledge" works as a fairly entertaining example of strict genre convention on auto pilot and has one of those cockamamie plots that only works off sheer luck and plot devices. As with "The Negotiator," there is a strong cast here trying their darndest to sell a bill of goods in a movie that doesn't quite know what it wants to sell until the last few minutes; but by then it's too late.


Sam Worthington is one of the more sought after young hollywood stars from Australia. Nobody knew his name until "Avatar" and that should tell you all you need to know. I would argue that he hasn't quite yet found his niche in the movies and "Man on a Ledge" won't do him any favors. Here he plays Nick Cassidy, a former police officer who was apparently working a case to uncover some police corruption somehow connected to a rich diamond dealer named David Englander (Ed Harris). Englander and a couple mystery cops frame Cassidy for stealing something called the "Monarch diamond" which for all we care could have been called the MacGuffin diamond. If you don't know what a MacGuffin is, look it up.


The first mistake "Man on a Ledge" makes is trying to make us believe that a well-liked police officer with no prior criminal history would get 25 years in prison for stealing. This Englander guy must know some important people to be sure, but I don't think I can quite believe he is one of those guys who gets to say to people "I own the cops in this town." Anyway, Cassidy knows he is innocent, and so must we if we understand how these cookie cutter plots work. Nick is given news that his father has died and is being escorted to the funeral, where he must remain in his prison oranges to mourn. Here, he gets into a fight with his brother Joey (Jamie Bell) and in the scuffle is able to break free. The way he breaks free is not advisable, least of all for a cop, but like everything else with this movie, the means which he employs were probably chosen based off how cool it would look. Lucky us.


This is where the cockamamie plot takes over because it doesn't take much to understand that in movies like this, the only way to prove your innocence is to concoct some elaborate scheme. Without going into too much detail, I will just say that this elaborate scheme involves Nick checking into a hotel, ordering some expensive room service, and stepping out of his 21st floor window and onto the ledge. Pretty soon, spectators below take notice and this stirs up quite a crowd, as well as a significant amount of what I can only assume is the entire NYPD. Pretty soon, Nick is demanding to Detective Jack Dougherty (Edward Burns) that he will only speak to negotiator Lydia Mercer, played by Elizabeth Banks. If I remember correctly, Cassidy picks her because she negotiated with a fellow officer on the Brooklyn bridge and he ended up jumping. Nick relies on her reputation to convince people that he means business and will jump off any second. No, seriously, he means it.


Meanwhile, Nick's brother Joey and his girlfriend Angie (Genesis Rodriguez), who looks and acts like she's taking time off from 'The Jersey Shore,' are across the street at Englander's high-security diamond exchange. By this point, we understand that Nick's whole purpose for being a man on a ledge is to distract the police and perhaps Mr. Englander from catching onto what Joey is up to. Things get complicated because the top cop on the scene is Dante Marcus (Titus Weliver), whose name alone seems to implcate him in any number of police corruptions. Nick's friend and former partner Mike Ackerman (Anthony Mackie) also figures into the scheme, although their relationship may not be quite the same when all is said and done.


I will say no more of the plot except to give it one bit of praise. The vital pieces of information in the story are revealed at a good pace, not giving away too much too soon, although sometimes too little too late. It's too bad the actors weren't given a better script to work with because some of the twists and plot reveals might work better with more convincing dialogue. Instead, we're treated to Ed Harris throwing temper tantrums, and Elizabeth Banks uttering such eloquence as "this is MY crime scene, get out." The only actor we're not really surprised by is Sam Worthington, because I guess anything is a step up from "Clash of the Titans." Jamie Bell turned in some incredible performances early in his career with "Billy Elliot" and David Gordon Green's "Undertow" but lately has found himself in ho-hum supporting parts.


Given its many weaknesses, "Man on a Ledge" isn't a complete failure. I've never heard of director Asger Leth before, but he gives the proceedings a shot or two of suspense and energy. The climax is surprisingly brisk and exciting. Usually in pictures like this the pay-off isn't worth the build-up but here we have a pay-off that deserves to be in a better movie. Considering how much we have to suspend our disbelief to enjoy "Man on a Ledge" I was willing to recommend it for anyone willing to shut of their brain for an hour and half. Yet, I knew early in the film when I saw a familiar character actor as a bellhop that the movie had something up its sleeve. Then, after all the silliness of the plot and the all the nonsense we're expected to buy, it reveals one last surprise and I felt like I had been jerked around. I don't mind cleverness in movies this absurd but it comes off as sheer cheek and that's where I draw the line. Or where I come down off the ledge.