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Well-executed and thoughtful. Novel
Based on a hit book by Nick Hornby (“High Fidelity,” “About a Boy”) that contained an emotional minefield maudlin enough that the film took nearly a decade to come into existence even though the Hornby bandwagon was full in the ‘00s, “A Long Way Down” is a textbook case of over-direction. Characters laugh too hard; the score.
From the book jacket: Hornby mines the hearts and psyches of four lost souls who connect just when they've reached the end of the line. Meet Martin, JJ, Jess, and Maureen. Four people who come together on New Year's Eve: a former TV talk show host, a musician, a teenage girl, and a mother. Three are British, one is American. They encounter one another on the roof of Topper's House, a London destination famous as the last stop for those ready to end their lives. This is a tale of connections made and missed, punishing regrets, and the grace of second chances.
Comment: This is one of those books that you're either going to love or hate. Take for example, the 4 big pre-publication reviewers: Publishers Weekly and Booklist give starred reviews and Kirkus Reviews describes it as 'well-executed and thoughtful', but Library Journal slams it as 'surprisingly tedious' and a 'slip-up'.
Personally, I enjoyed it very much. I listened to it as an audio book read by Simon Vance, Kate Reading and Scott Brick (which was a little confusing as Brick is also the narrator of Sean Wilsey's autobiography, Oh The Glory of It All, and having finished listening to Oh The Glory of It All just before listening to A Long Way Down, I associated Scott Brick's voice so strongly with Sean Wilsey that I kept finding myself wondering why Sean was about to jump off a roof! I'm having the same trouble listening to This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M. Homes at the moment - it's a fun book except that it too is read by Scott Brick who, it seems, will forever be Sean Wilsey in my mind!)
A Long Way Down is told from the points of view of four very different people who meet on the roof of a London building each planning to commit suicide. From this dubious beginning they form a most unlikely friendship which we see develop from their alternating points of view over 3 months.
Looking back on the book I find it interesting to realize that what kept me listening was the character of Maureen, who Hornby describes as 'the soul of the book'. To begin with I really didn't have much interest in the lives of the other characters, I didn't particularly like them and as a result really couldn't feel all that sympathetic to their problems. However, I was so caught up in Maureen's story and her observations that overtime I found myself caring for all four!
Comment: This is one of those books that you're either going to love or hate. Take for example, the 4 big pre-publication reviewers: Publishers Weekly and Booklist give starred reviews and Kirkus Reviews describes it as 'well-executed and thoughtful', but Library Journal slams it as 'surprisingly tedious' and a 'slip-up'.
Personally, I enjoyed it very much. I listened to it as an audio book read by Simon Vance, Kate Reading and Scott Brick (which was a little confusing as Brick is also the narrator of Sean Wilsey's autobiography, Oh The Glory of It All, and having finished listening to Oh The Glory of It All just before listening to A Long Way Down, I associated Scott Brick's voice so strongly with Sean Wilsey that I kept finding myself wondering why Sean was about to jump off a roof! I'm having the same trouble listening to This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M. Homes at the moment - it's a fun book except that it too is read by Scott Brick who, it seems, will forever be Sean Wilsey in my mind!)
A Long Way Down is told from the points of view of four very different people who meet on the roof of a London building each planning to commit suicide. From this dubious beginning they form a most unlikely friendship which we see develop from their alternating points of view over 3 months.
Looking back on the book I find it interesting to realize that what kept me listening was the character of Maureen, who Hornby describes as 'the soul of the book'. To begin with I really didn't have much interest in the lives of the other characters, I didn't particularly like them and as a result really couldn't feel all that sympathetic to their problems. However, I was so caught up in Maureen's story and her observations that overtime I found myself caring for all four!
This review was originally published in The BookBrowse Review in June 2005, and has been updated for the May 2006 edition. Click here to go to this issue.
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Contents.Plot Martin Sharp is contemplating suicide on New Year's Eve on the roof of the Toppers Building, high above London's streets. He is interrupted by a woman, Maureen , who has the same fate in mind. She shyly offers to wait her turn, until two other strangers, a young woman named Jess and a pizza deliverer called J.J.
, also turn up.Martin is recognized by the others, having been a popular television personality before going to prison for a relationship with a girl who turned out to be 15. After talking things over, the four strangers form a pact, vowing to wait at least until Valentine's Day before taking their lives.Maureen has a disabled son she adores, but little life beyond that.
Jess is the daughter of a politician and their relationship is strained. Is an American who once played in a band, but while his three new acquaintances are suicidally depressed, he claims that he is terminally ill with cancer.To profit from misfortune, Martin hatches a scheme that makes them the talk of London, claiming their mass suicide was interrupted by a vision. They end up on his old TV chat show, where Martin's former co-host Penny makes her guests feel humiliated and even more depressed.The four go off to a vacation resort to get away from London's attention. They enjoy each other's company, at least until a confession by one of them and the intervention of a reporter named Kathy drives them apart.
Matty, Maureen's son, has a heart attack but recovers. Jess and Martin visit Maureen in the hospital but J.J. Can't be contacted. They realise it's Valentine's Day and that their pact has ended. All four end up back in London on the very same rooftop with the other three coaxing J.J.
Off the edge successfully.On New Year's Eve that year, they video call each other. Martin is looking after his daughter, Maureen is enjoying herself at a New Year's party, and J.J. And Jess are in a happy relationship.Cast. as Martin Sharp.
as Maureen Thompson. as Jess Crichton. as J.J. Maguire. as Penny.
as Mr. Crichton. as Kathy Miller. as Chas Johnson. as MattyProduction Brosnan has stated that TV presenter was an inspiration to him in playing the role. While reading the script for the film in the restaurant in, Brosnan stated that he saw Madeley and his wife and later said 'I think it's his sheer ebullience and enthusiasm.
You have to be almost shamanic to do it, really, and really believe in yourself. And it's a thin line between being affable and being really annoying. So it takes a brave soul, really.' Release The film premiered at the on 10 February 2014. Reception A Long Way Down received negative reviews from critics. Review aggregation website reported an approval rating of 22%, based on 50 reviews, with an average score of 4.2/10. The site's consensus reads, 'Tonally jumbled and conceptually ill-advised, A Long Way Down bungles its source material and wastes a talented cast.'
At, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 34, based on 21 reviews, indicating 'generally unfavorable reviews'.In 2015, the film won a Voice Award from the American. References.
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