Film / Man on a Ledge

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Ex-cop Nick Cassidy was sent to jail, convicted of stealing, and destroying, a $40-million diamond from David Englander. He has just escaped from prison to embark on a daring heist: to stand in plain sight, while the crime he was convicted of is committed, and in so doing prove his innocence. He is willing to go as far as he needs to—in this case, to a ledge on the Roosevelt Hotel, 31 stories up.

Man on a Ledge is a 2012 thriller film directed by Asger Leth, starring Sam Worthington, Jamie Bell, Genesis Rodriguez, Elizabeth Banks and Ed Harris.

Man on a Ledge contains the following tropes:

• Acceptable Breaks from Reality: Lots. In the real world, a person will need to spend at least some time in the courtroom to clear their name. Also, a lot of actions taken by the characters would likely get them shot by police. Justified in that the point of "Being on the Ledge" is that the whole thing is being filmed by the local news, and a lot of police don't want to be on camera doing the shooting. The film also notes that the New York governor issued a pardon, cutting through a lot of court time and red tape.
• Air-Vent Passageway: Joey and Angie go through several large air vents during the heist. The last one comes with a side order of Claustrophobia for poor Angie.
• Big Bad: David Englander is the main antagonist of the film, having conducted insurance fraud by framing Nick for stealing his invaluable Monarch Diamond, while in reality, he kept it for himself. During the events of the film, he uses the Dirty Cops on his payroll to put a stop to Nick's plans.
• Broken Bird: Detective Mercer is still haunted by memories of a fellow cop whose suicide she couldn't prevent.
• Buxom Beauty Standard: Joey calls Angie "moving artwork" when he's ogling her sizable bra-clad breasts when she's getting changed in front of him.
• Camera Spoofing: Of the "Polaroid Punk" variety. Subverted in that the guards never catch on.
• Chekhov's Gun: The air bag that is placed down near the beginning of the movie (when the police think Nick is a potential suicide) ends up being crucial to the finale when Nick has to jump down the building and survive the fall.
• Clear My Name: Nick was framed for stealing a diamond, so after he escapes prison he has to orchestrate the theft of said diamond in order to prove he never stole it in the first place.
• Coincidental Broadcast: Mercer happens to walk into a room just as the news is talking about her failed attempt at Talking Down the Suicidal.
• Conveniently Timed Distraction: Nick's whole jumper threat is all a big distraction to allow Joey and Angie time to perform the diamond heist on the nearby building. This included Nick pretending to jump at one moment to cause a big commotion with the crowd in order to drown the noise of an explosion that Joey and Angie set off.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: David Englander. The man is big on apparently charitable and gentrifying work, but like many other people, the real estate bubble burst hurt his wallet a bit... good thing he's got an insurance policy for a multi-million-dollar diamond that he can defraud... and a man he can make a patsy... and plenty of connections in the police that can help him set it up.
• Delinquents: Angie's backstory on why she's good at breaking into places is that she used to break into the homes of rich people to try on their clothes and hang around the place. She insists she never stole anything, but Joey has his doubts.
• Dirty Cop: Several of the cops are on Englander's payroll and helped frame Nick; part of the plot is figuring out who they are.
• Endangering News Broadcast: The news helicopter flying too close to Nick while he's at the ledge almost causes him to fall off the building.
• Faking the Dead: Nick's father. The funeral is when Nick pulls off his Great Escape and the man pretends to be Roosevelt Hotel personnel to help him afterwards.
• Foreign Cuss Word: Angie swears in Spanish twice.
• Frame-Up: Nick was framed for stealing the Monarch Diamond as part of Englander's insurance fraud scheme.
• Great Escape: Nick at the ending of the How We Got Here flashback on the first act, during his father's funeral.
• Heel–Face Revolving Door: Mike may have been a Dirty Cop, but he shoots Marcus to stop him from killing Nick and Joey. It may have gotten him killed.
• The Heist: The attempt to steal the diamond from Englander to show he got it, with the titular suicide attempt being a distraction.
• How We Got Here: The film opens with Nick standing on the ledge of a building, looking like he's ready to jump and commit suicide. The first half hour of the movie shows us what led to that point and reveals he never was Driven to Suicide at all.
• Hypocritical Humor: Joey gives Angie shit for her past as a thief throughout the story, but at the end, he reveals he stole one of Englander's diamond rings and uses it to propose to her.
• Just Like Robin Hood: Kind of. Joey and Angie perform the heist to prove Nick's innocence rather than an actual redistribution of wealth, although Angie mentions that in the past she used to only steal from rich folks.
• Leap of Faith: Near the end, Nick takes a running leap off the ledge... and lands safely on the air bag the police put out an hour of movie-time ago.
• Lingerie Scene: Angie gets one where she's shown in her bra and panties (both pink) while changing clothes.
• Logo Joke: The Summit Entertainment logo has a background of New York skyscrapers on it, seen here👁 Image
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• Mineral MacGuffin: The Monarch Diamond is the multi-million-dollar diamond that Nick was framed of stealing, but it was never stolen and Englander still kept it. Nick and his friends steal it in order to prove his innocence.
• Ms. Fanservice: Angie is very beautiful, wearing a tanktop that shows her cleavage for much of the film, along with the camera focusing on her backside while in tight pants as well. She also strips to her underwear once.
• Multitasked Conversation: Joey tells Nick in his earpiece when he and Angie spot a sensor they didn't know was there, just as Lydia is telling Nick what she'd be doing if she wasn't there to talk him off the ledge (eating at a favorite restaurant). Nick says out loud that what's being described to him sounds hot, but it needs to be cooled down. Both Joey and Lydia think Nick is saying this to Lydia, with Joey getting irritated because he thinks Nick is ignoring him to flirt with Lydia (though it doesn't stop him from asking Nick if Lydia's attractive). It's Angie who realizes Nick is telling Joey the sensor is a heat sensor, and that Joey should cool it down.
• Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Sam Worthington's character is perhaps the only New York cop with an Australian accent.
• Obligatory Earpiece Touch: Nick and Joey often touch their earpiece when talking to each other.
• Outlaw Couple: Joey and Angie are a couple are perform the heist mostly by themselves while following Nick's instructions.
• Police Brutality: Officer Marcus assaults Joey while he is handcuffed.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: Englander calls Angie a "little Chihuahua".
• The Precarious Ledge: The film is pretty much built around this trope. The Protagonist spends a great deal of time standing on the ledge of a building over a city.
• Precision F-Strike
  Mercer: I know Cassidy's not on this ledge to say goodbye.
  Dougherty: Yeah? What's he saying?
  Mercer: "Fuck you."
• Primal Fear: Definitely the Heights and Falling sort.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: David Englander. The man's benefit work is just so he can show off he's got money to toss away... and when he's feeling a little low, he's got no problem arranging a big fraud and putting a man in prison for life.
• Sex God: When Angie jokes about the "best sex in her life" Joey quickly assumes she's talking about him and is dismayed when she just derisively laughs. He's further annoyed when he asks about it again and she reveals her high-school boyfriend was much better in bed than he is, although it's implied she's messing with him.
  Angie: Well, there was this one guy in high school. He was older. He had these hands...
• Shoot Out the Lock: After Mike locks himself into the hotel room to talk to Nick, Jack has to shoot down the door to get back inside.
• Side Bet: Suzie and her cameraman make a bet on whether or not Nick will jump.
• Skewed Priorities: Joey is baffled when he catches Angie putting on lipstick in the middle of the heist while they're waiting for an explosive to go off.
• Sleepy Depressive: Mercer is introduced still sleeping in the way in the afternoon, due to being depressed after failing to save a suicidal cop.
• Smug Snake: David Englander, all over. When he walks away thinking he's going to become a Karma Houdini at the finale, he actually stops for a moment to blow a big kiss at Nick.
• Spicy Latina: Angie. She has a feisty personality, drops a few Spanish insults at the bad guys and is very beautiful, as shown off by outfits that highlight her good looks (also stripping down to her lingerie once).
• Stay in the Kitchen: A lot of Mercer's police colleagues don't respect her purely because she's a woman.
• Talking Down the Suicidal: Played With. The film has disgraced ex-cop Nick threatening to jump from a hotel window, and much of the movie consists of police negotiator Lydia Mercer trying to talk him down, but the whole stunt is actually just a distraction to keep the police busy while Joey and Angie attempt a heist in the building next door in order to prove his innocence. In the climax, he spots the bad guy on the street and jumps down anyway, onto the airbag the police had set up.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Jack and Mercer aren't too thrilled to be working together at first to get Nick off the ledge, but they eventually thaw towards each other, and near the end of the movie, Jack admits he would be proud to work with her again.
• There Are Two Kinds of People in the World: Winners and losers. Guess which one Englander thinks he's in?
• Title Drop: Delivered by the NYPD desk sergeant.
  "We need an emergency service unit at The Roosevelt, 45th and Madison. Shut down the block, we got a man on a ledge."
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Did Mike survive being shot near the end?
• Wire Dilemma: When Angie has to disarm the vault's alarm, there's some drama over which wire she should cut. Nick and Joey's suggestions aren't helpful.
  Nick: First, cut the red wire.
  Angie: Red wire? They're all red wires!
  Joey: Babe, pick the reddest one.