The Ledge (2011)

11% of critics liked it
(28 reviews)
52% of users liked it
(3,710 ratings)

One step can change a life forever in The Ledge, a sexy and suspenseful thriller, starring Charlie Hunnam, Liv Tyler, Patrick Wilson and Terrence Howard. After embarking on a passionate affair with his evangelical neighbor's wife (Tyler), Gavin (Sons of Anarchy's Hunnam) soon finds himself in a… More One step can change a life forever in The Ledge, a sexy and suspenseful thriller, starring Charlie Hunnam, Liv Tyler, Patrick Wilson and Terrence Howard. After embarking on a passionate affair with his evangelical neighbor's wife (Tyler), Gavin (Sons of Anarchy's Hunnam) soon finds himself in a battle of wills that will have life or death consequences. As a nonbeliever, Gavin is lured by her lover's husband (Insidious's Wilson) to the ledge of a high rise and told he has one hour to make a choice between his life or the one he loves. Without faith in an afterlife, will he be able to make a decision? It's up to police officer Hollis (Howard) to save both their lives, but the clock is ticking in this edge-of-your-seat film that will leave you gasping until the final frame. -- (C) IFC Films

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 41 min.
Directed By: Matthew Chapman
Written By: Matthew Chapman
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Drama

In Theaters: Jul 8, 2011 Limited
On DVD: Sep 27, 2011
Studio: IFC Films

Critic Reviews

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
Chapman coaxes good performances from his cast, especially Wilson, who makes Joe's immense conflicts a matter of empathy as much as abhorrence. But Chapman doesn't have the filmmaking skills to conceal the talky, formulaic narrative.
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
Gavin recalls his experiences while standing atop a building ready to jump; we're meant to be on edge ourselves, but the only real mystery is why Tyler took such an unrewarding role in the first place.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
A film that's ultimately sabotaged by its own heavy-handed screenplay.
Kyle Smith, New York Post
Unlike its talky hero, the credibility of this preposterous drama immediately plunges into the abyss.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
What undoes it is its mechanical structure: a stale dramatic formula of the sort taught in elementary playwriting classes.
Rex Reed, New York Observer
The characters in The Ledge exist for the sole purpose of argument, and the script is too narrow to engage the viewer unconditionally.
James Plath, Movie Metropolis
A perfectly watchable drama, but it could have (and should have) been a bona fide thriller.
Mike Scott, Times-Picayune
Covering well-worn territory and offering no solutions, it ends up feeling shrill and angry and not nearly as profound as Chapman seems to think it is.
Ethan Alter, Television Without Pity
Clunky writing and flat-footed direction derail this initially intriguing exploration into both the power and limits of belief.
Brent Simon, Shockya.com
The framing device of its conceit is beyond silly, and its religious and philosophical debate a tad inorganic, but ambition and intellect help drive and push The Ledge in interesting ways.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
Nothing much holds together in this entropic drama that still manages to entertain sporadically through the efforts of its sincerely invested cast.
Susan Granger, SSG Syndicate
Simplistic, contrived, neo-noir psychological thriller
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
rather laborious
Alonso Duralde, The Wrap
Can't wait until Thanksgiving dinner to witness a pointless conversation between a pompous fundamentalist Christian and a sneering atheist? Then The Ledge is the movie for you.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
A drama about the clash of faith between a zealous Christian fundamentalist and a non-believer with a zest for life.
Stephanie Zacharek, Movieline
The melodramatic flourish that ends The Ledge feels unearned and unclean: It's the sort of ending that ought to hit hard, and yet it comes off as perversely inconsequential.
Marshall Fine, Hollywood & Fine
The writing here is so lifeless and schematic that even the attraction of Liv Tyler stripping down to get horizontal with Hunnam won't be enough to keep you watching.
Noel Murray, AV Club
If nothing else, The Ledge is a reminder of what a terrible, terrible actress Liv Tyler is.
Sam Adams, Time Out New York
The dopey setup might fly in a film with more panache, but Chapman seems to think he's making a gritty indie with ideas on its mind.

Read all 19 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Candy R

Looked like a good cast but it was really slow going. I couldn't get into it.
Lorenzo v

"One life. One chance. One step." A police officer looks to talk down a young man lured by his lover's husband to the ledge of a high rise, where he has one hour to contemplate a fateful decision. <center>"One life. One chance. One step." A police officer looks to talk down a young man lured by his lover's husband to the ledge of a high rise, where he has one hour to contemplate a fateful decision. <center>REVIEW</center> My, this movie has a lot of things spinning. It's like watching CNN for an hour with every conceivable topic trying to be covered. Here are some of them (I am sure I missed a few): religious conversion as in "born again" and no religion, infertility, adultery, gay, and trauma (all three main characters had some form of it). Conversations ensue on all these so it is a chatty film. But the plot moves along with good twists and turns with a conclusive ending. I did find the character played by Liv Tyler to be overly subdued and monotone - and she rather slowed the film down too much. Or this film lacked energy bursts sometimes. For characters with a dysfunctional past they didn't seem particularly animated. I refer in particular to Liv Tyler who was selling herself for drugs and found the Lord through her husband. Or said another way, I would have expected a woman who opens a beer bottle with her teeth to be a little more spunky! Her husband (Patrick Wilson), it would seem, was a one-time pornographer and dealer who also found the Lord's calling - his anger is suppressed through his Biblical utterances. The film does require some patience - it became too academic in the middle as well as artificial. I did enjoy the performance of Charlie Hunnan and Terrence Howard. In the end I suppose what we have left is love and acceptance.
Manu G

One life. One chance. One step. Good movie. Interesting film. The plot is slow but the ending was wicked and enthralling. Acting was pretty good, especially from Patrick Wilson. I enjoyed it. Nice cast. A thriller in which a battle of philosophies between a fundamentalist Christian… More
One life. One chance. One step. Good movie. Interesting film. The plot is slow but the ending was wicked and enthralling. Acting was pretty good, especially from Patrick Wilson. I enjoyed it. Nice cast. A thriller in which a battle of philosophies between a fundamentalist Christian and an atheist escalates into a lethal battle of wills. Ultimately, as a test of faith, or lack of it, the believer forces the non-believer onto the ledge of a tall building. He then has one hour to make a choice between his own life and someone else's. Without faith in an afterlife, will he be capable of such a sacrifice?
Christopher H

The Ledge lacks any real, three-dimensional characters, consisting of people reading lines and adhering to the generic roles they have been placed with no shining or rising above. Do not get me wrong, the film is filled with great actors. Charlie Hunnam and Patrick Wilson are great… More
The Ledge lacks any real, three-dimensional characters, consisting of people reading lines and adhering to the generic roles they have been placed with no shining or rising above. Do not get me wrong, the film is filled with great actors. Charlie Hunnam and Patrick Wilson are great opposites, they just are not given much to work with. The story told through flashbacks is utilized poorly, there is no danger until the last few moments, and the side story does little to hold relevant next to the unfolding main plot line. Chalk this up to poor writing choices and misdirection.
Jason C

The Ledge has a strong cast, but the back-story is a little lame, so it didn't make it to theaters (unless it was a real limited release). The story starts picking up, and comes to a fantastic end, but lacks enough power to make The Ledge recommendable. Casting was very good.… More
The Ledge has a strong cast, but the back-story is a little lame, so it didn't make it to theaters (unless it was a real limited release). The story starts picking up, and comes to a fantastic end, but lacks enough power to make The Ledge recommendable. Casting was very good. I'd say worth it on a movie channel.