Run & Jump (2014)

Good start, but then it gets ruined

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

The movie is wildly uneven but lively and timely - in its own surreal way

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

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

Set in the beautiful countryside of Ireland, this deliberately paced drama, laced with humor, managed to keep me engaged throughout. It's quite well acted and ably directed by Steph Green, who co-wrote the script with Ailbhe Keogan.Maxine Peake, whose screen presence I found rather dazzling, portrays Vanetia Casey, a red-haired vibrant free spirit married to Conor and the mother of Lenny and Noni. Conor, also strongly portrayed by Edward MacLiam, is just returning to the family home after suffering a debilitating stroke. He had been in a coma for a month, followed by 4 months of rehab.Will Forte is also excellent in the role of Dr. Ted Fielding, a brilliant American researcher and neuropsychologist. Under a grant, he's doing a research case study on Conor's rare recovery from this type of stroke. He'll be monitoring Conor's progress 24/7 while living with the Casey family.They'll be two major concurrent themes at work here. One is the powerful chemistry and attraction between Vanetia and Ted, which will lead to all kinds of underlying tension in the home. Another will be the dramatic family dynamics that play out as they try to adjust to Conor's limited capacities, as he strives to improve in his recovery.All in all, despite some depressive moments, the filmmakers find a way to add some humor along the way and not get too maudlin in the process. Also, Peake's wonderful performance adds so much life to the film and is worth the price of admission.

The other reviews already described it: It's an artsy, independent, European movie. If you liked sunshine cleaning, Juno and/or little miss sunshine, you'll probably like this one too, although it has no comic scenes in it. And you won't see the hard stuff of brain-seizures, so it's a family-friendly movie. But what really, really bugged me was the catholic, conservative, misogynistic ending. Off course there was no room to even think about staying altogether, off course there had to be a decision made and also off course it had to be made without the handicapped, but for him. And off course the woman is happy to relinquish, because that's the way they are.I find this very sad, because all of the (state) money for the movie is wasted, if you're not able to make a movie that challenges the audience to dream or think in a new way or question their way of thinking. A solution would have been an open end, but that was also not done here. With this ending it's more of a cheesy lifetime-movie...

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.