A Long Way Down
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: July 11, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
34
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
10
Negative:
9
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJul 17, 2014
As British comedy sometimes will, A Long Way Down has an occasional attack of the cutes, but the actors' commitment keeps the movie on the plus side. Read full review
63
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreJul 8, 2014
"Way Down” veers towards cute and settles on “twee” far more often than it should. Read full review
60
Village VoiceSerena DonadoniJul 10, 2014
The group's surprising anchor is Maureen, the single mother of an adult son with cerebral palsy; her fierce love and stifling isolation are contained by careful routine. Collette wears that armor, and cracks it, to devastating effect. Read full review
60
The GuardianAndrew PulverFeb 11, 2014
A genial, lightweight farce, which largely approximates Hornby's distinctively bittersweet tone. Read full review
50
Entertainment WeeklyJason ClarkJul 11, 2014
With an ace troupe like that, there are affecting moments, to be sure. But the movie criminally wastes Sam Neill and Rosamund Pike in barely there supporting roles, and the picture has exactly two tones: grim and gooey. They do not coexist harmoniously. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloJul 10, 2014
This film adaptation, however, never succeeds in settling on a tone at all, veering ineptly from flippant goofiness to maudlin sentiment and back again. Read full review
40
Arizona RepublicBarbara VanDenburghJul 17, 2014
There's nothing surprising or fresh about these people, their problems or their pairing, each character fitting snugly into his or her familiar archetype. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanJul 10, 2014
The results are awkward and atonal. Read full review
40
The DissolveKeith PhippsJun 10, 2014
The film wavers between the drippy and the glib from start to finish, sometimes within the course of a single scene. Read full review
40
Time Out LondonCath ClarkeMar 18, 2014
The novel A Long Way Down is not-quite-vintage Nick Hornby. And this is a disappointing film version, a bit hokey and fake. Read full review
40
Total FilmEmma DibdinMar 17, 2014
At best, this is a cringey stab at black comedy redeemed by charismatic stars; at worst it’s a glib and manipulative punt on a subject that deserves more care. Read full review
40
EmpireAngie ErrigoMar 17, 2014
Trivialising despair, it’s a depressing waste of a major cast, and an early bid for mess of the year. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoJul 11, 2014
There are moments of tenderness and honest human emotion buried in the frustrating A Long Way Down but one has to work far too hard and give far too much credit to the over-qualified cast to grab at them. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle SmithJul 9, 2014
Among group-suicide movies, A Long Way Down may prove uniquely inspirational: It’s bound to make audience members want to kill themselves. It might be the only summer movie during which the snack bars will be selling cyanide Kool-Aid. Read full review
38
Slant MagazineChuck BowenJul 6, 2014
An inept trifle, Pascal Chaumeil's film reduces Nick Hornby's novel of the same name to a series of smug self-help gestures. Read full review
25
ObserverRex ReedJul 10, 2014
The movie doesn’t know if it wants to be a comedy, a morality play or a cautionary tale about being careful what you wish for. I wish for fewer disasters in my future like A Long Way Down. Read full review
25
The PlaylistJessica KiangFeb 12, 2014
The film is awful, but it is not unwatchable. Read full review
20
The TelegraphTim RobeyFeb 11, 2014
Jack Thorne's screenplay has all the emotional nuance of a Sudoku puzzle; directed by French romcom veteran Pascal Chaumeil (Heartbreaker), it's bouncy and vacuous enough to feel like a light comedy from the planet Neptune. Read full review
20
VarietyPeter DebrugeFeb 11, 2014
It’s worse than tacky, trivializing depression for a handful of easy laughs and pop-psychology platitudes. Read full review
20
The Hollywood ReporterLeslie FelperinFeb 11, 2014
The film forms a near-perfect storm of misjudged decisions, with its implausible plot, irritating or outright-dislikeable characters, and strained attempts at “wacky” British humor that fall so flat they’re below sea level. Read full review
10
The New York TimesStephen HoldenJul 10, 2014
If there is any humor to be gleaned from this concept, it is nowhere to be found in a movie so shoddily made that there is little continuity between scenes and not a laugh or even a titter. Read full review
More From This Movie

34 Critic Reviews

6.2 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL