Based on the acclaimed novel by Nick Hornby, “A Long Way Down” stars Pierce Brosnan, Toni Collette, Aaron Paul and Imogen Poots as four strangers who happen to meet on the roof of a London building on New Year’s Eve each with the intent of committing suicide. Their plans for death in solitude are ruined so they mutually agree to call off their plans for six weeks, forming an unconventional, dysfunctional family and searching together for the reasons to keep on living.
A comic tale tackling the twin taboo subjects of suicide and depression? It may sound like risky terrain for best-selling author Nick Hornby to tread, but he tackled it sensitively and successfully in his funny, sad and strikingly humane novel A Long Way Down. Hornby’s audacious story mines the hearts and psyches of four lost souls who meet atop a London building. Moving between each of the four voices, Hornby recounts the quartet’s misadventures as they agree to suspend their plans temporarily, forge a dysfunctional family unit and opt to give living one more chance.
“A Long Way Down” is a movie that delivers a positive message of hope, while being funny, unpredictable and with complex characters that are really interesting to follow. It’s about four very different people coming together in an unusual fusion of personalities — something that people will find that compelling and resonant.