Nick Hornby's 2005 book is one of his best, but 2014's 'A Long Way Down' manages to be a contender for the weakest (or one of them) adaptation of his work.
As an adaptation, 'A Long Way Down really does disappoint, lacking the biting humour, wryness, depth, intelligence and pathos of the book. Hornby is not easy to adapt, but this felt very watered down and bland adaptation-wise, with the spirit not being there and the details present but not used to their full potential. As a standalone, 'A Long Way Down' is not an abomination because it does have some things working in its favour but at the same time it has too many flaws to be an underrated gem.
Starting with what was good about 'A Long Way Down', the locations and costumes are very well done and the film is beautifully shot. The soundtrack fits very well and is memorable, being careful not to intrude. Of the four stories that the film bases itself around, Maureen's comes off the strongest, it has real poignancy and emotional resonance and the only one to feel believable or genuine. The scenes between her and son are incredibly sweet and moving without being mawkishly over-sentimental. The film gets off to a good start as well, having some degree of tension and didn't feel contrived or manipulative in any way.
The cast is a decent one to begin with, and while there are some definite standouts not everybody fares well. The most consistent is Toni Collette, an actress who can elevate any material regardless of its quality. She is helped by the fact that she has the most relatable character and the most genuine of the four stories, but Collette really is affecting here and also quite charming. Martin is a rather erratic character, but Pierce Brosnan's presence still feels very natural. And Sam Neill, while with a small role (too small considering his considerable talent), acts with understated dignity. Not everybody works here. Aaron Paul is certainly not bad at all and displays charm and charisma, however the character is underwritten and is not interesting or well-developed, sometimes almost thankless until the climactic speech. Wasn't sure entirely about Imogen Poots, whose performance like the film will divide audiences. Sometimes she is funny and poignant but at other points she overacts and it grates and makes the character annoying. Lovely Rosamund Pike is sadly completely wasted, with virtually nothing to do in one of 'A Long Way Down's' most forced scenes.
Chaumeil's direction really works against them, it's flat as a pancake and at its worst listless as well as never seeming to find the right tone. While there are moments, 'A Long Way Down' never completely works as a comedy or drama. It does feel like it tries too hard to be funny and also too hard to be moving. The funny scenes are very few (there was not enough humour also in the first place), while those few scenes are amusing most are awkward, very forced and even out of place. In terms of the moving scenes, only Maureen's back story evokes emotion, the rest are not fully explored or even neglected (Aaron Paul is especially wronged here) and the characters are not written with enough depth or believability to make me empathise with them, Jess sometimes annoyed me in fact.
In terms of the story, there is so much going on and so many shifts in tone that it feels very rushed and jumpy (making the chemistry between the cast suffer as a result), and the tonal shifts really do jar to the point it does confuse in places and the film just feels unfocused and unbalanced. Suicide is a very heavy subject to explore but is almost completely trivialised here, the opening explores it well but the rest of the film feels like a different film and like the opening didn't happen. That said, because not enough is done to make the back-stories and characters interesting the film feels dull too.
Overall, didn't hate it, didn't love it. Somewhere in between, but with a strong air of disappointment considering its potential with the source material and cast. 5/10 Bethany Cox
As an adaptation, 'A Long Way Down really does disappoint, lacking the biting humour, wryness, depth, intelligence and pathos of the book. Hornby is not easy to adapt, but this felt very watered down and bland adaptation-wise, with the spirit not being there and the details present but not used to their full potential. As a standalone, 'A Long Way Down' is not an abomination because it does have some things working in its favour but at the same time it has too many flaws to be an underrated gem.
Starting with what was good about 'A Long Way Down', the locations and costumes are very well done and the film is beautifully shot. The soundtrack fits very well and is memorable, being careful not to intrude. Of the four stories that the film bases itself around, Maureen's comes off the strongest, it has real poignancy and emotional resonance and the only one to feel believable or genuine. The scenes between her and son are incredibly sweet and moving without being mawkishly over-sentimental. The film gets off to a good start as well, having some degree of tension and didn't feel contrived or manipulative in any way.
The cast is a decent one to begin with, and while there are some definite standouts not everybody fares well. The most consistent is Toni Collette, an actress who can elevate any material regardless of its quality. She is helped by the fact that she has the most relatable character and the most genuine of the four stories, but Collette really is affecting here and also quite charming. Martin is a rather erratic character, but Pierce Brosnan's presence still feels very natural. And Sam Neill, while with a small role (too small considering his considerable talent), acts with understated dignity. Not everybody works here. Aaron Paul is certainly not bad at all and displays charm and charisma, however the character is underwritten and is not interesting or well-developed, sometimes almost thankless until the climactic speech. Wasn't sure entirely about Imogen Poots, whose performance like the film will divide audiences. Sometimes she is funny and poignant but at other points she overacts and it grates and makes the character annoying. Lovely Rosamund Pike is sadly completely wasted, with virtually nothing to do in one of 'A Long Way Down's' most forced scenes.
Chaumeil's direction really works against them, it's flat as a pancake and at its worst listless as well as never seeming to find the right tone. While there are moments, 'A Long Way Down' never completely works as a comedy or drama. It does feel like it tries too hard to be funny and also too hard to be moving. The funny scenes are very few (there was not enough humour also in the first place), while those few scenes are amusing most are awkward, very forced and even out of place. In terms of the moving scenes, only Maureen's back story evokes emotion, the rest are not fully explored or even neglected (Aaron Paul is especially wronged here) and the characters are not written with enough depth or believability to make me empathise with them, Jess sometimes annoyed me in fact.
In terms of the story, there is so much going on and so many shifts in tone that it feels very rushed and jumpy (making the chemistry between the cast suffer as a result), and the tonal shifts really do jar to the point it does confuse in places and the film just feels unfocused and unbalanced. Suicide is a very heavy subject to explore but is almost completely trivialised here, the opening explores it well but the rest of the film feels like a different film and like the opening didn't happen. That said, because not enough is done to make the back-stories and characters interesting the film feels dull too.
Overall, didn't hate it, didn't love it. Somewhere in between, but with a strong air of disappointment considering its potential with the source material and cast. 5/10 Bethany Cox