Indie Film Spotlight - A Long Way Down

Film: A Long Way Down
Released: 2014
Rated: R
Director: Pascal Chaumeil
Writer: Jack Thorne
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Toni Collette, Imogen Poots, Aaron Paul
Short Summary: Four strangers meet on the top of a building all planning to commit suicide on New Year's Eve. Instead they avoid suicide in favor of forming a surrogate family to support each other.

My Thoughts

I was of course on the prowl for an indie film to watch on Netflix last night. After clicking a few movies I didn't have interest in watching I found A Long Way Down which featured Toni Collette. If it has Toni Collette in it I am watching it. She is a genius actress. Plus, premise of A Long Way Down seemed too clever to pass up.

This film is in fact clever as well as being well written and directed. It has the perfect balance of being funny and dramatic. It gains extra points in my book for taking situations that really shouldn't be funny and making them hilarious. This is because the characters are so well developed and well acted. The writer, director, and the actors knew how to create compelling scenes that carry the viewer though the journey of the movie. Thus,I think this movie took me through every emotion while watching it. I laughed, I cried, I worried, most importantly I rooted for the characters and cared about them. It's a movie that connected with me the way the characters in A Long Way Down connect with each other.

I loved that the movie took time to show the viewer what each of the main characters had going on in their life before and after their meeting each other. They manage to do it in a interesting and not overly time consuming way but it is effective. It's very important to me to see a change in main characters in a cause and effect way in a story. This movie makes it easy to see that development. I love that.

A Long Way Down is the type of movie I would have no problem watching over and over again. I enjoyed it immensely. It's a movie that explores the importance of the bond of friendship. I love movies like that. The movie is based on a book. I need to read that book!