The Ledge

A hotel manager, Gavin, is standing on the edge of a tall building with a few hours before he jumps. The policeman talking him down, Hollis, has had his own life fall apart that morning. Gavin explains why he is up there: he slept with Shauna, the wife of his neighbour Joe, Joe found out, and Joe forced a choice on him. Joe is a devout Christian and Gavin is an atheist, and the matter between them is framed as an argument about belief from the start. That is the most obvious thing about the film: the story exists to dramatise a debate, and the characters state their positions outright. What tension there is comes from the time passing on the ledge rather than from the talk. Matthew Chapman wrote and directed. Charlie Hunnam plays Gavin, Patrick Wilson plays Joe, Liv Tyler plays Shauna and Terrence Howard plays the policeman. Chapman's own position sits behind the film: he is Charles Darwin's great-great-grandson and an open atheist, and his books are about the power of religion over behaviour. It screened at Sundance in 2011, opened on 8 July 2011, flopped at the box office and was heavily panned. Who it is for: anyone curious about films that argue about belief head on. Who it is not for: anyone wanting subtlety. The characters are written as spokesmen for positions, the plot is contrived, and the ending is built to suit the thesis.