Every Nick Hornby Movie & TV Adaptation - Ranked From Worst To Best

9. A Long Way Down (2014)

A Long Way Down is a special Nick Hornby book. It centres around four individuals who by chance all meet each other on the roof of a building as they intend to commit suicide, the story follows their reasons why and subsequent pact to leave the roof unharmed.

The main problem with the film version is that you don’t for a second believe that they’re there to commit suicide. A Long Way Down stars Pierce Brosnan, Toni Collette, Aaron Paul and Imogen Poots as the individuals who make it down from the roof and each of them admittedly acts it well. Like Hornby’s style allows, the characters are able to have fun in their roles while dealing with hard issues, however the screenplay is instead written by Jack Thorne and lacks a certain vibrancy to the dialogue and critically, humour.

Simply, the film doesn’t work, you don’t believe in it and it misses the heartfelt mark. Hornby’s original novel is hilarious, yet melancholic and the film fails to recreate what the story is all about.