Run & Jump

While you're waiting for Netflix to stream the last two seasons of "Silk,"* you may want to take a look at this intriguing indie. Maxine Peake gives a fine, energetic performance as Vanetia Casey, a beleaguered housewife in County Kerry, a long way from the Inns of Court. The setup may seem a little contrived—Vanetia's husband, Conor, is a stroke survivor whose recovery's being monitored by an American brain researcher, Ted (Will Forte), who's camped out in their teenage son's bedroom—but the plot starts ticking over as Ted, played as a standoffish nerd at first, loosens up and starts to bond with mother and son.

Edward MacLiam gives a convincing performance as Conor, a volatile wild child who's entranced by the animals in a petting zoo but taunts his son with homophobic slurs; Conor's parents turn up in a couple of scenes as reminders of the old, unforgiving Ireland that we're familiar with from films like "Philomena." (If the script has a fault, it's that these intergenerational conflicts seem a little cut and dried.) That's a lot to pack into 106 minutes, but Vanetia and Ted's grass-fed (wait for it!), flirtatious friendship is pretty delightful and saves the film from being just another grim indie study of family conflict. Great locations, great music, from the Magnetic Fields to a haunting Irish lament.

* After more than two years, still only available on Blu-ray or as an expensive rental on Amazon… Gobshites! [01/07/17]

Just how fluid is our definition of "family"?

Conor (Edward MacLiam) is an Irish carpenter who, at the age of 34, is unexpectedly felled by a stroke. Though he will never again be the man he was, Conor recovers sufficiently to allow him to return home to his wife, Vanetia (Maxine Peak), and two children. However, he is accompanied by Ted Fielding (a generally miscast Will Forte), an American brain specialist who moves in with the family so he can monitor and study Conor's condition on a 24/7 basis. While Ted, a single man without a wife or children of his own, is supposed to remain a neutral, emotionally detached observer of the situation, he finds himself more and more filling the void left by Conor, slipping into the role of father to the children and husband to the wife. Will Conor erupt in a jealous rage at this blatant disruption of his family unit, or will he have the grace to accept the fact that Ted can provide for his loved ones in a way that he himself no longer can?

Written by Ailbhe Keogan and Steph Green and directed by Green, "Run & Jump" is an unassuming, slice-of-life drama that is less about a man's struggle to overcome the harsh hand that's been dealt him and more about the effect that hand is having on those around him. How, the movie asks, does one re-establish a familial norm when the dynamics have effectively shifted and everyone's role in that family has been essentially redefined? This relationship-shuffling manifests itself in some surprising ways. Conor's stroke, for instance, has clearly affected the part of his brain that censors what he says, a condition that proves most taxing to his gay teenage son who must suffer his dad's withering homophobic comments, keen in the knowledge that they reflect his own father's true, unfiltered feelings towards him. And there are many such examples.

Despite a certain sketchiness in some of the storytelling, "Run & Jump" is, for the most part, a poignant case study in family dynamics, one that both avoids melodrama and refuses to cast judgments on its characters as it explores the complexities of human relationships.

Before I saw this movie, I had a small idea as to what the main storyline was about. I wondered how the story would be captured on film. It exceeded all my expectations and managed to deliver far beyond that. It is such a sensitive portrayal of a situation. I liked the way the film was peppered with humour and it showed how people can find humour or use humour to deal with the potential sadness of a situation. It's quintessentially Irish without being twee or 'oirish'! The acting is superb also. I often think that a good sign of a movie is one that leaves an impression and becomes the topic of conversation for days/weeks afterwards. This movie made that great impression and I look forward to seeing it again soon.

Run 8 Jump is a great movie with a well written plot and a top notch cast. It's a sweet, enlightening and somewhat heartbreaking film, dealing with some very serious issues of family as the people here undergo some harsh times. It is also a film about realisation, of people seeing where they stand in this world. We see this mainly in Vanetia, who is a very developed, strong female character.

My main issue with this film would actually be the way it was advertised, as the tone is completely different. The advertisements made this look like a very happy, feel good film with a bit of drama, whereas it has significantly more weight and heavier undertones than we ever would have gotten from those trailers.

The cast is stellar, Maxine Peake shines in the lead role, clearly having put a lot of depth and thought in to her character. Will Forte is also fantastic in a very unlikely turn for him, well known for his Saturday Night Live sketches, I would never have pictured him in such a toned down, very human role, and he is spectacular in it. Every cast member gets a chance to shine in this film. Edward MacLiam has some great, hard hitting moments and even the child stars have some rough dialogue that they deliver with pure emotion, particularly Brendan Morris, who plays Peake's son in the movie, coming to terms with the situation his parents are in.

It is very real, there is really no "movie clichés" here, it's a drama about human issues. Dramatic, well acted and very engrossing, Run & Jump is certainly worth the watch for anyone looking for a good drama.

An American doctor travels to study a family following their fathers stroke.

Best Performance: Maxine Peake

An Irish family welcome home Conor, the husband and father who has recently suffered a life changing stroke. In tow is an American psychologist who is studying Conor's progress as he tries to settle back into the family life. It's not long before the American becomes the father figure himself and also begins to veer towards a deeper relationship with Vanetia, the wife.

For a film that clocks in at just over 1 hour 40 minutes this still felt rather long winded in places. Some of the dramatic scenes work well and the performances are perfectly OK, Edward MacLiam as Conor in particular impressing whereas Maxine Peake as his free-spirited wife struggles badly with the Irish accent which doesn't help.

It seems however there is too much thrown into the pot and in the end it becomes unnecessarily convoluted - we have the blossoming relationship between the wife and the psychologist, the struggles of the husband and wife, the son facing up to homosexuality, the suspicious father-in-law, the sister who's taken a shine to the American and so on. All this leaves it rather disjointed and had it just centred on the 3 way adult relationship dynamic it would've made for a much stronger film.

Not all bad but something of a mixed bag.