| Coming Down the Mountain | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Television movie |
| Directed by | Julie Anne Robinson |
| Written by | Mark Haddon |
| Starring | Nicholas Hoult Tommy Jessop |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Original channel | BBC One |
| Release date | 2 September 2007 |
| Running time | 90 mins |
Coming Down the Mountain is a 2007 British television movie which was shown on BBC One, written by Mark Haddon (author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) and directed by Julie Anne Robinson. The television movie was based on a radio play also written by Haddon.
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David and Ben Philips are teenage brothers who live in London. Ben has Down's syndrome. David resents the protective attention his parents lavish on his younger brother and how much they rely on him to look after Ben. The family move from London to Derbyshire so that Ben can attend a special school, meaning David has to leave his friends and girlfriend, Gail, behind. Ben makes friends and finds a girl friend. David has difficulty fitting into his new school, suffering at the hands of bullies which leads him to self harm. David decides to kill his brother. He takes Ben hitchhiking without telling his parents, and they camp in Snowdonia. Climbing the mountain, David plans to murder Ben by pushing him off a high ridge. At the top, David changes his mind but following taunting by Ben pushes him in a fit of rage. Ben survives the fall relatively uninjured, but goes to hospital. David kidnaps him afrom hospital, but Ben stands up to him. He becomes the stronger character and after an evening talking round the camp fire David sees the real Ben for the first time and the brothers become reconciled. They both stand up to their parents' excessive molly coddling who for the first time see Ben as a young adult. Ben explains that he has a girlfriend and wants to work on a farm.
Nominated for a BAFTA 2008 Winner of the RADAR People of the Year Human Rights Media AWARD 2008
In 2004, Haddon's original radio broadcast won Bronze for The Drama Award in the Sony Radio Academy Awards.[1]
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