A mixture of Crash, Love Actually and Go, Kieron J. Walsh’s Jump (adapted from Lisa McGee’s play) is ambitious in the extreme. The multi-plotted non-linear story contains elements of romance, crime, death, redemption, black comedy and farce – with a nod to Mary Poppins to boot.
Nichola Burley plays Greta, suicidal daughter of crime boss Lalor Roddy. Abandoned by her parents (Charlene McKenna and Valene Kane) on New Year’s Eve, Greta decides to jump from Derry Peace Bridge, only to be stopped by Pearse (Martin McCann), who’s having a rough night of his own.
As these characters collide, Walsh taps into many larger themes, with Derry’s history providing an atmospheric backdrop. McKenna (Raw, Ripper Street) is charming as ever as a recession victim orphaned in a country with nothing to offer. Good Vibrations star Richard Dormer is excellent as a criminal seeking another way of life. His incompetent partner-in-crime Ciarán McMenamin, meanwhile, is darkly funny.
Visually, the film is stunning. As Burley dons a striking angel costume, director of photography David Rom lights Derry with the slick, heightened beauty of an arty music video. There’s a haunting grace to Gretta’s depression; this lost little angel disconnected from the world.
However Jump suffers from the scale of its ambition and its short duration. Each storyline feels marginally underdeveloped. In certain ways, Greta’s thinly-drawn character proves unsympathetic, and Burley and McCann’s badly scripted romance is scarcely believable. Meanwhile, gags about Cheeky Girls songs jar with the gravitas and emotion of the central storyline. Overall, though, it’s well worth seeing.