Why do we watch revenge movies? An often argued reason is catharsis. Revenge movies have a unique way of dredging up cultural anxieties and stabbing them in the back, so when the lights come up, we can feel safer about contemporary fears and issues. Howard J. Ford has managed to do this in crisp, low-budget ways with “Never Let Go” (kidnapped girls) and “The Dead” and “The Dead 2” (autoimmune viruses). In his latest effort, “The Ledge,” he puts a knife in the back of bro culture. Coupled with a silly, unnecessary flashback structure that is groan-worthy, Ford’s “The Ledge” is an experiment that never quite pays off.
You have to wonder if Ford recently watched “Revenge” and “127 Hours” and thought, what if I combined these two things in Italy? The first half is a dull, half-baked drama where Kelly (Brittany Ashworth) is reeling from the death of her fiance who died on the very same trail she is about to embark on. The second half is a dull, half-baked thriller where Kelly is trapped on a ledge by the four men who just raped her friend (Anais Parello). Combine the two and what do you get? 127 hours of misery.
READ MORE: ‘A Banquet’ Review: Ruth Paxton’s Feature Debut Needs A Little Less Seasoning
Though Kelly catches these men on camera, she lets out a “yelp” that gives away her position. With a map and backpack, she decides the best course of action is to climb Mt. Dolemite, in hopes they aren’t able to go up after her. All she has to do is make it to the top before they do. Sounds easy, right? Not when Joshua (Ben Lamb) takes a shortcut, pinning her on a ledge 10,000 feet up. What follows is a game of jock and mouse in which Kelly tries to outsmart the frat boys, three of whom didn’t participate in the rape, but cover for “their guy” anyway.
The final hour is basically Kelly hiding and fighting. She hangs over a valley, one arm clinging to a rock. She stabs the first person to reach her tent. She runs, dives, crawls, and climbs from boulder to boulder. But Ashworth’s performance is the most compelling when she stops to pause, think, and feel. On a ledge, she thinks about the lessons her fiance taught her while climbing. Every now and then, she looks down below, taking in the weight of her situation. Ashworth is truly captivating in these moments–this is when the real acting happens, emotions barely but noticeably abseiling across her face.
As good as she is, and as timely as the film can be, it is frustrating that the villain seems to have waltzed in from a 1930s noir. Lamb’s performance must have been difficult, portraying a truly bloodthirsty and despicable human being. For a film that feels modern and realistic, it’s a shame that Ford wrote him such an unbelievable part. Joshua can’t possibly be real, can he? Who says stuff like, “All women are whores…who suck cock for money?” Even if he gets what’s coming to him, there are just too many wrong turns on this climb to catharsis. [C-]
“The Ledge” is available now on VOD.