A Running Jump (2012)

Members of a family lives frantic lives of Olympian proportion.

Director:

Mike Leigh

Writer:

Mike Leigh

Stars:

Eddie Marsan, Samantha Spiro, Sam Kelly

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Eddie Marsan	...	Perry
Samantha Spiro	...	Debbie
Sam Kelly	...	Grandad
Danielle Bird	...	Jody
Nichole Bird	...	Hayley
Lee Ingleby	...	Gary
Robert Putt	...	Derek
Jade Anouka	...	Jody's Friend
Belinda Everett	...	Karate Girl
Selina Zaza	...	Karate Girl
Ben Batt	...	Footballer
Jonny Leigh Wright	...	Footballer (as Jonny Leigh-Wright)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
James Ellen	...	Karate

Storyline

Incompetent car salesman Perry is desperate to get the money to release the car he hopes to sell to young Gary from the garage but his wife,fitness instructor Debbie is fed up with constantly bank-rolling him and he eventually has to sell Gary an inferior model in order to stump up the cash to pay the garage man. Just how inferior it is Gary discovers when the engine starts smoking and the car breaks down on the way home.

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Genres:

Short | Comedy

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 June 2012 (UK)

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Thin Man Films, Film4, BBC Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

35 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

A fun half hour

Seen as part of a programme of four shorts for the London 2012 Festival, Mike Leigh's short film follows a hectic day in the life of used car salesman Eddie Marsan and his family.

It's entertaining, drawing its humour from larger than life characters, moves at a break-neck pace and cleverly incorporates the sport theme by showing how it's involved in the everyday lives of ordinary people - this is done so subtly that you don't even realise it at the time.

In the end though, the humour is all there is, the characters are more caricatures who it's difficult to get care too much about, and there's no emotional pay-off to all the frenetic running around.