Rosamund Pike: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

4. Penny - A Long Way Down

Pike has a small role in the disappointing adaptation of Nick Hornby's novel, playing Penny, a peppy TV show host who laps up the sensationalist story of redemption the suicidal foursome spins, and inevitably turns the tables on them, making them feel even worse than they already did. Though Pike isn't an inherently bad choice for the role of a beautiful TV show host, she's just given no room to give anything more than a completely one-note, one-dimensional performance as a predatory TV presenter. Sure, there's a satirical point to her role in the movie, but a more developed character with a bigger role would have gone a long way to making her performance seem less silly and cartoonish. Still, her screen time is minimal, so this one will be easily forgotten (if people even bothered to see it anyway).