Lifestyle review: Coming down the mountain

September 12, 2007 in Disability

Coming Down the Mountain
BBC1
Sunday 2 September, 9pm

Star rating: 5/5

The film is about two teenage brothers, writes David Fry. It was written by Mark Haddon who wrote the book called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which is about a boy who is autistic.

The story in Coming Down the Mountain is very believable. Ben, one of the brothers, is played by Tommy Jessop, who has Down’s syndrome. David (played by Nicholas Hoult) doesn’t like having Ben as a brother or having to look after him.

Their parents move the family miles away so that Ben can go to a special school. David loses his girlfriend and all his mates when they move. He hates his new school and gets even more fed up with his parents giving all their attention to Ben. He decides to kill him.

The two brothers go on a long journey to the mountains and upsetting things happen which change both of them for ever.

All the actors in this film are brilliant and Tommy Jessop is an inspiration to other people to do the things they want to and become famous. When I asked Tommy what advice he had for others wanting to become an actor, he said: “Keep dreaming and maybe you’ll get where I am now.”

The producer, Roanna Benn, told me that they worked with the Down’s Syndrome Association and had interviewed 130 people all round the country for the part of Ben.

I have a learning disability and I made a film with others called Can You Hear Us?. It was all about our real-life experiences. Watching Coming Down the Mountain brought back memories of how hard it was and how brilliant it is to do something like this.

In one way this is a story of two ordinary, funny, bright teenage brothers. It also showed how hard it was for the parents to deal with the arguments between the boys and to have to move home and start new lives.

The story is funny but sometimes sad. I recommend this film to anyone if it is repeated, whether they have a learning disability or not. It is beautifully filmed and is very good to watch. Everyone who watches it will enjoy it.

David Fry works for the charity United Response and has a learning disability