Man on a Ledge
Man on a Ledge | |
---|---|
Directed by | Asger Leth |
Written by | Pablo Fenjves |
Produced by | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Paul Cameron |
Edited by | Kevin Stitt |
Music by | Henry Jackman |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Summit Entertainment[1] (through Lionsgate[2]) |
Release date |
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Running time | 102 minutes[1] |
Country | United States[1] |
Language | English |
Budget | $42 million[3] |
Box office | $47.6 million[2] |
Man on a Ledge is a 2012 American
In the film, a man using an alias stages a suicide attempt and asks to speak with a specific police negotiator. He is himself a disgraced police officer who was convicted of a diamond theft, and seeks a way to clear his name. His associates try to prove that the diamond was never stolen, and that the "theft" was part of an insurance fraud scheme by the diamond's owner.
Plot
A man named Joe Walker checks into the
Nick distracts the police while his brother, Joey, and Joey's girlfriend, Angie, break into Englander's vault across the street to recover the diamond and prove his innocence. Cassidy must use
Joey and Angie enter the hotel and hand the bag containing the diamond to the hotel concierge. The concierge pockets the diamond while placing the bag onto the rack. Englander calls Marcus, one of the corrupt cops who helped him frame Nick, and has him capture Joey and Angie as they reach the street. Nick attempts to escape through the hotel, pursued by a tactical team. The concierge aids him by handing him a disguise containing the diamond. Marcus chases Nick to the roof, where he has Mercer arrested for obstruction to clear the roof. Englander brings Joey and Angie, threatening to kill Joey unless Nick gives him the diamond. Nick turns it over, and Englander leaves. Mercer escapes custody in an elevator and rushes back to the roof. Marcus demands Nick jump off the roof. Ackerman arrives, shoots Marcus, and is shot in return. Ackerman apologizes to Nick and says he did not know Englander would frame him. Marcus' bulletproof vest saves him. As he prepares to kill Nick, Mercer arrives and shoots him. Englander mocks Nick as he leaves the area. Nick jumps from the roof onto an airbag set up earlier by the police and catches up to Englander. With the assistance of a crowd member, Nick evades capture and pulls the diamond from Englander's jacket, publicly proving his innocence. Englander is then arrested for insurance fraud.
Nick is cleared of all charges and released from custody. He meets Joey, Angie, and Mercer at a bar owned by Nick's father, Frank Cassidy, who had faked his death and pretended to be the hotel concierge. Mercer asks Nick to "explain everything" to her as Joey proposes to Angie with a diamond ring, presumably stolen from Englander's vault. She accepts, and they all celebrate together.
Cast
- Sam Worthington as Nick Cassidy
- Elizabeth Banks as Lydia Mercer
- Jamie Bell as Joey Cassidy
- Anthony Mackie as Mike Ackerman
- Edward Burns as Jack Dougherty
- Titus Welliver as Dante Marcus
- Genesis Rodriguez as Angie
- Kyra Sedgwick as Suzie Morales
- Ed Harris as David Englander
In addition, William Sadler portrays the hotel valet, revealed at the end to be the Cassidy boys' father.
Development
On September 3, 2010, it was confirmed that Jamie Bell had joined the cast.[4] Filming began on October 30 in New York City. On November 1, Ed Harris and Titus Welliver were confirmed to have joined the cast.[5]
The first image from the set was revealed on November 2, 2010.
During development, a large, on-rails prop was used to make the Roosevelt hotel seem taller, so that the hotel would remain consistent with the shots filmed in-studio instead of on the hotel itself. During the scenes where Nick is running along the sides of the hotel, extra floors were added during post-production to save the need for a second attachment. In post-production, crowds were edited in from other shots so that the crowds would appear consistent throughout the film. The lead actor, Sam Worthington, admitted during interviews that he had a fear of heights that he had to tackle during recording of the film.
Release
Box office
Man on a Ledge grossed $18.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $29 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $47.6 million.[2]
The film placed fifth in the box office with $8 million gross on its opening weekend, and made $4.4 million in its second, falling to ninth.[8]
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 31% based on 162 reviews and an average score of 4.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Uninspired acting and preposterous plotlines defuse Man on a Ledge's mildly intriguing premise."[9] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 40 out of 100 based on reviews from 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[10] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[11]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said, "The movie cuts back and forth between two preposterous plot lines and uses the man on the ledge as a device to pump up the tension." According to Ebert, too much depends on Nick securing a leave from prison, escaping from two armed guards, reaching Manhattan, checking into the correct hotel room on the correct floor and not falling off prematurely.[12] Anna Smith felt that the film "embrace[d] its own lunacy readily enough", but criticized the "ridiculous ending".[13] Similarly, The New Zealand Herald considered the film "a missed opportunity" that doesn't live up to its potential", pointing at the "limited" location Sam Worthington had to work with, praising how he still appeared "suitably terrified".[14]
Home media
The DVD and Blu-ray Disc was released in the United States on May 29, 2012, after being absorbed by Lionsgate.[15]
The disc contains a 20-minute featurette, which shows behind-the-scenes footage, with an explanation of how various shots or effects were achieved. For instance, producer Lorenzo explains how shots of the crowd were composited onto a green chroma keying carpet, laid down underneath the fake ledge used for shots recorded in-studio. A version of the film with voiceover is included for the visually impaired.
The Steelbook version of the film does not have menus, so is missing the special features present in the DVD and Blu-ray releases.
The 4K UHD Blu-ray was released in April 2019.
Music
The soundtrack to Man on a Ledge was released on January 27, 2012. James Southall commented that while "there is occasionally some reasonably tense action music", he found most of the score "very tired-sounding".[16][unreliable source?] Jørn Tillnes of Soundtrackgeek.com described it as "succeed[ing] in almost every way", but that he "would prefer more variation", as he found that "as a complete listening experience, you get bored with it".[17][unreliable source?]
See also
- Fourteen Hours (1951)
References
- ^ a b c d "Man on a Ledge (2012)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved November 12, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Man on a Ledge (2012) - Box Office Mojo". Boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- ^ "Movie Projector: 'Grey' leads 'Man on a Ledge,' 'One for the Money'". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (September 2, 2010). "Jamie Bell Joins Thriller 'Man On A Ledge'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (November 1, 2010). "'Man On A Ledge' Adds Ed Harris and Titus Welliver". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
- ^ "First Image of Sam Worthington as a MAN ON A LEDGE". Collider.com. October 31, 2010. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- ^ Good, Ben (2012-02-02). "Trailer Tuesday: Man on a Ledge" Archived 2012-04-09 at the Wayback Machine. Clapperboardblog.com. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
- ^ "Man on a Ledge". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
- ^ "Man on a Ledge". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
- Fandom, Inc.Retrieved April 5, 2021.
- ^ Finke, Nikki (January 29, 2012). "'The Grey' $20M Opening Shocks Showbiz, 'One For The Money' $11.7M, 'Man On A Ledge' $8.2M". Deadline Hollywood.
And yet it received the best CinemaScore of the 3 openers: 'B+'. That's worse than what the studio expected.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (January 25, 2012). "Man on a Ledge". Chicago Sun-Times – via Rogerebert.com.
- ^ "Man on a Ledge (2012), directed by Asger Leth - Film review". Timeout.com. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- ^ Francesca Rudkin (May 17, 2012). "Movie review: Man on a Ledge (+trailer)". Nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
- ^ "Man on a Ledge". CompleteSeasonDVDs.com. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
- ^ "Man on a Ledge". Movie-wave.net. February 12, 2012. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- ^ "Soundtrack Review: Man On A Ledge - Soundtrack Geek V2". Soundtrackgeek.com. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
External links
- Man on a Ledge at AllMovie
- Man on a Ledge at IMDb