Final Rating: 2.5/5
Jimpa, a coming of age drama from director Sophie Hyde, stars John Lithgow as Jim and Olivia Colman as his daughter Hannah. Jim is a gay man who moved to Amsterdam from Australia, leaving behind his wife and daughters, years after coming out to get more involved in helping the gay community. As a university professor, he’s well respected in the community and has a long history of activism.
Hannah’s daughter Frances (Aud Mason-Hyde) is a non-binary teen, looking to discover who they truly are. Jimpa is the moniker Jim gave himself upon becoming a grandpa as he felt that sounded too old, so combined the two, providing an easy nickname and insight into his mindset.
Their journey starts out as they head off to visit Jim in Amsterdam. Frances tells their parents they want to move there from Adelaide and live with Jim to experience more queer culture than the smaller city provides. Jim is happy to have them, or so it would seem, as he feels there is much more to offer there.
As they meet various people in Jim’s circle, Frances seems more and more amenable to the idea, having their eyes opened to new experiences, but as with anything, that means taking the good with the bad. They meet Isa, (Zoe Love Smith) an attractive woman, who is a few years older and a student of Jim’s and is already in a relationship. They hit it off, but after hooking up for the first time, the nature of jealousy and monogamy is complicated, especially for a teenager. This frustration puts a damper on Frances’ enthusiasm for staying.
A line early on, where Jim chastises Frances’ generation saying “Your generation is all text, no subtext” is, quite frankly, a very apt description for the film itself. Characters simply state everything, opinions, questions, whatever it is that comes to mind. There is little nuance to any of it. Jim is meant to be an outspoken, shoot from the hip type, an in your face personality who is by his own admission selfish (as evidenced by him thinking about taking a new job in Helsinki after just inviting Frances to stay), but the dialogue, and experience, suffers because of how on the nose much of it is. It sets up several potential conflicts or storylines but never derives any stakes for them.
For instance, Frances goes to lunch with Jim and some of his close friends, all gay men of a similar age, and in the discussion it becomes clear that while Jim is certainly progressive for his day and age, he’s not so inclined to the thinking of younger LGBTQ+ individuals. This could be a focal point for him and Frances to have a falling out and have to come back together later in the film, but the story simply moves on without any real conflict there.
In a similar fashion Hannah is working on a film, one about her father’s story, though she has yet to tell him. This again sets up an opportunity for them to more closely examine the nature of their relationship, which on a Zoom call she describes as a drama without conflict, which is of course antithetical.
Without getting too much into spoiler territory, late in the story and done mostly by voice over and one sided reflection as Jim’s health takes a set-back. Hannah’s older sister Emily (Kate Box) joins them as she was Jim’s caretaker after his first stroke, and they have to decide the best course of action for him.
There are moments of heart, in particular the family dynamic, as it blends in a mix of shots from the past, unfolding the story of Jim’s life. It is also a sort of history of what the queer community went through in his time, and the struggles some still face today. However, overall much of it feels like it’s just there at the surface level, telling the story in a very expository manner. The cast seem well connected, and ideas present, just in need of a better draft when it comes to the script.
Jimpa was seen during the 2026 International Film Festival of Ottawa.
