Good films should make you think or leave you with something to ponder for the next few days. It’s not an imperative quality, and the thoughts films inspire are highly subjective, but if you truly subscribe to film being an art form, it ought to do more than just be moving pictures – because that’s what life is. It should propose something. The Ledge does so but to a point that becomes more than just a little overbearing. It seems that Matthew Chapman’s script can’t help but descend into heavy handed pedagoguery on the subject of religious dogma versus free thinking. Now, a great many people may agree with the overarching points its main character, as played by Charlie Hunnam, makes in its rally against the black and white moralizing of the fundamental Christian viewpoint advocated therein by Patrick Wilson. In fact, I would count myself among them – but most would do so with a few hesitations, because while the intent is noble, the execution leaves many issues with the characterization and the underlying premise. There are a few palatable morsels of good filmmaking hanging from The Ledge, but you really have to work to find them amongst the charred corpse of an attempted philosophical thesis that went up in flames.
Based on the fact that police officer Hollis Lucetti (Terrence Howard) finds Gavin (Hunnam) standing on the ledge of a building ready to jump, it’s pretty clear that Gavin’s life isn’t going perfectly. As Hollis looks to buy time and talk the man down, Gavin relates the events that brought him there. Until Shana (Liv Tyler) and Joe (Patrick Wilson), a fiercely Christian couple, moved in down the hall, Gavin and his gay roommate Chris (Christopher Gorham) went about their daily lives happy with their lifestyles. Soon enough, Shana winds up at Gavin’s workplace where he manages a hotel and ends up offering Shana a position, which she accepts. As their social interactions occur with increasing frequency, Shana’s husband takes notice and soon, after heated discussions on the existence and infallibility of God, the two men find their ideological stances are at very definite odds with one another. Irritated that such a prejudiced man as Joe could have as beautiful and caring a wife as Shana, Gavin seeks to drive them apart. What follows is a conflict between the two men that brings out the worst side of both of them.
Philosophical debate in films, when handled correctly, can feel entirely organic and not interrupt the procession from one scene to the next. The Ledge never really manages to carry that off, with the discussions between Gavin and Joe feeling like giant speed bumps that slow the film to a near halt. The conversations as they relate to the subjective viewpoints of how souls’ ultimate fates are decided according to religious beliefs deserve to be heard and had by people around the world, but the tact with which they occur hear makes them awkward blocks of dialogue that do little to win favor with the audience for either side. (If you remember scenes from The Matrix Reloaded where two characters talk Philosophy 102 late at night in Zion, then you’ve got a good idea.)
It’s clear we’re supposed to sympathize most with Gavin, as he’s our de facto protagonist and the one ultimately driven to the ledge by the dispute, but his tactics in dealing with his fundamental adversary do little to endear him to the audience. In fact, having him devise a plot to slowly drive a wedge between the married couple, no matter the current state of contentment therein, only proves Joe’s belief that Gavin is pursuing and supporting sinful activities. Consequently, the film can’t really be said to make a point in favor of either side of the discussion, but rather it throws it all against a wall and waits for one side to potentially fall to its death. That sounds like it should be more thrilling than it is, but the true conflict of the film, exactly why Gavin stands on the ledge and what can be done to change his fate, seems an afterthought (or not a thought to the writer) and thus the film never pursues one of the biggest opportunities for the film’s ending, choosing instead to take a rather blunt and unsatisfying resolution.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
A trailer and interviews with cast and crew are the only extras.
"The Ledge" is on sale September 27, 2011 and is rated R. Drama. Written and directed by Matthew Chapman. Starring Charlie Hunnam, Liv Tyler, Patrick Wilson, Terrence Howard.
