Jump (II) (2012) User Reviews

One of the best films to come out of Northern Ireland - Maybe??

[scott-home-1 · 7/10 · 15 June 2012]

I saw this movie as part of the Belfast Film Festival and was expecting some tragic love story set in Northern Ireland to the backdrop of the troubles. Well I'm pleased to say this was refreshing take on a story set in Northern Ireland where nothing is mentioned in relation to "The Troubles", which is an important part of the country's history, but exciting to see truly ingenious independent film making from this tiny country.

The story or each character's story all move at a pace that whilst you have time to sympathise the script never dwells too long for you to become too involved, and this where the weakness of the film may be? Possibly a bit more development around the 2 central characters of Nichola Burley(Greta) and Martin McCann(Pearse) might have given more depth/explanation.

There is light relief from from the henchmen of the local gangster which I suppose you could say follow all the usual clichés of one that's dim and the other whom is tormented soul for his past actions.

The story whilst simple does have its twist and turns and how all they eventually collide is down to good writing and the director giving the story room to breathe whilst not let things drag. The other point is that this could have been filmed/made in any city around the world and hopefully should therefore translate to a wider audience.

I do hope this get picked up for distribution, as not to win awards but just for pure entertainment.....

Hailing from Ireland, Kieron J. Walsh's 'Jump' is a dark and twisted tale with elements of comedy that will attract the indie-film crowd at first glance.

[bryank-04844 · 4/10 · 2 September 2015]

Hailing from Ireland, Kieron J. Walsh's 'Jump' is a dark and twisted tale with elements of comedy that will attract the indie-film crowd at first glance, but loses its appeal very fast. You can tell that Walsh has a passion for the movie business and a true love of cinema, as he pays homage to several styles of filmmaking throughout the picture, however the several different story lines that intersect in a 'Pulp Fiction' like way do not have enough time on screen for anyone to develop a relationship with the characters.

I've enjoyed over the years seeing films like this play out. The odd time jumps is still a great idea if done right, but like the "found footage' movies that we constantly see today, some of the originality and freshness is not what it used to be. If 'Jump' came out in the year 2000, I think it would have been a better experience. Unfortunately, with this being Walsh' second attempt at a feature film, it comes across a jumbled mess of a movie with characters we could care less about, although the general story is a decent one.

'Jump' takes place in a small city in Ireland in the few hours leading up to the New Year's countdown. And much like 'Memento' and 'Pulp Fiction', we see the end of the film first. And then we are taken to a different point in time followed by a different point in time in the story, which all leads back to the beginning, which is the end.

The story goes as someone unknown to us has stolen a large sum of money form local gangster Frank Feeney (Lalor Roddy) who runs a nightclub along with various other criminal activities. Feeney has two of his best guys (Richard Dormer and Ciaran McMenamin) on the job to track down his money and deal with the thief. The supposed lead role is Feeney's daughter Greta (Nichola Burley) who is struggling with the work her dad does and wants to get a way from it all. We see that she is about to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge when a young man by the name of Pearse (Martin McCann) stops her. Unknown at first, Pearse is on a revenge mission to find Feeney for the murder of his brother. Meanwhile, two of Greta's girlfriends (Charlane McKenna and Valene Kane), have a night at the bars for the holiday that goes from drunken fun to murder and mayhem.

Kieron's camera-work is great, showing the grittiness of this crime tale to the side streets and dark alleys of a decent town in Ireland. Not at one point do we see the beauty of the lush landscapes and rolling hills of Ireland. And the set pieces are as dirty as the characters, each being fairly unlikable, although we want to. But the fatal flaw with this flick is that with a run time of only 84 minutes, we do not get enough time to connect and truly see who the characters are. Maybe this is due to how the film is laid out, being told out of order, but instead of a solid flow with the characters, we only get brief flashes with each of them, and we see the choices they make are all the wrong ones.

However, credit is sue to the actor's performances in these roles. Burley plays an emotional wreck very well with the time she's given and McCann plays the decent guy who is hellbent on revenge. The rest turn in solid if not by-the-book performances that keep the film going. Walsh has some talent here, however it is wasted on this film. It's messy execution and delivery make this potentially good film forgettable.

Cheeky, Clever and Thrilling Crime Caper

[Blue-Grotto · 8/10 · 9 April 2020]

"There are things for when you feel low and when you feel high" says Greta who is about to jump from a bridge on new year's eve, "yet not for when you feel absolutely nothing." She is not alone, even in the city of Derry. As the new year approaches Greta's story intersects with other similarly situated characters. The interlinked stories include a car crash, stolen money, a neglected gangster's daughter (Greta), clueless thugs and more.

I loved this fast paced, cheeky, clever and thrilling crime caper. Derry, which wallows in the shadows of Bloody Sunday, is the perfect setting for Jump. There is hope and humor amid the gloom, and fine acting and directing from relative unknowns. It rarely crosses anyone's mind, but Jump is extremely well edited and the transitions between the scenes are stellar. The editing really makes this film, yet the story is enthralling too. Seen at the Toronto international film festival.

Go

[Prismark10 · 4/10 · 21 January 2017]

Jump is a low budget Irish film that invites comparisons with Doug Liman's 'Go.'

It is a multi narrative crime story that you see from different perspectives, time period and involves chance encounters and near misses.

It is New Year's Eve in Derry, Greta dressed like an angel and a daughter of a gangster who after a night of partying has left her friends behind and is looking to jump from a bridge.

Walking by is Pearse, bloodied after being beaten up by a gangster, looking for his dodgy brother who might have been killed but he encounters Greta and wants to stop her from jumping. As you can guess it was Greta's father who sent two of his goons to beat up Pearse.

As the film progresses we see that throughout New Years Eve, these various characters criss crossed each other and were somehow connected.

This is the type of film ushered in by Quentin Tarantino in the mid 1990s. It has a kinetic energy, some black humour, violence but the characters are thinly developed and the film has a short running time which suggests there was not much to the story.