Starring: Craig Roberts, Emile Hirsch.
Just Jim, is Craig Roberts first directorial debut. The film follows a young Welsh boy and his journey through high school as he tries to become the cool kid with help from his new American neighbour.
I have very mixed feelings on this one. On one hand Roberts did an excellent job with both the screenplay, directing and acting but on the other I expected a lot more.
I found the movie to be quite boring and dull. It started off very well and I was hooked immediately because it reminded me of Submarine in a lot of ways... but then it go confusing and then it got boring. The story changed somewhere along the way and it suddenly turned into a darker movie which I didn't really understand.
Besides the storyline being somewhat miscommunicated, I thought the cinematography and backdrop were perfect. I love that Roberts used his own hometown in Wales and places he actually used to hang out for the movie, it definitely made it seem more personal. I think the rural background suited the characters and the plot quite well and made for beautiful scenery.
The shot types and colouring were also executed very well. It definitely had that indie movie touch with the filters and camera angles. There was a certain stillness and stiffness to the shots which kind of matched the stiffness of the Roberts character Jim. This aspect was definitely a strong point for the film. There was one scene in particular, where Roberts is underwater and I just remember that being a very picturesque and sublime moment in the film.
The acting was also overall good. Roberts played his usually quirky and slightly egotistical character and that went obviously well. Hirsch played into his character very well also and added that strangeness to the film which made the film stand out a lot more.
Besides the storyline, the only thing I would've improved on is the soundtrack. If the film had more of an influential soundtrack then it would've definitely struck out to me more and made the film pop a little.
All in all, I think this was a good effort for Roberts first film. I think his directorial skills are A1, his actual writing and script was good but then story lacked a lot. There was definitely a lot of potential for this movie but hopefully we'll be seeing it in more of Roberts films in the future.
