Watch Just Jim

Just Jim, a dark comedy-drama directed by Craig Roberts, follows Jim, played by newcomer Trystan Gravelle, a teenager living in a small Welsh town who is fed up with his monotonous, uneventful life. Jim keeps to himself in his dull little cardboard box of a house and spends most of his time watching horror movies, and his only friend is his best mate, Michael, played by Aneirin Hughes.

Jim's luck seems to change when American traveler Dean (Emile Hirsch) moves in next door, which leads to Jim's ultimate goal of becoming popular at school. Initially, Jim and Dean do not seem to have much in common considering Dean's laid-back attitude and Jim's repressed character, but they quickly bond over their shared love of horror movies, and Jim sees Dean as a path to a more exciting life.

As Jim starts to spend more time with Dean, his appearance and demeanor begin to change. Jim becomes a more confident person, dressing in stylish clothes, taking his hair out of his unflattering comb-over, and even showing off his newfound love for smoking cigarettes. However, as Jim's social standing improves, he discovers that the price of popularity comes at a steep price.

Just Jim is a film that doesn't quite fit into one genre. It has elements of comedy, horror, and drama and is enriched with a 1980s aesthetic. Despite occasional moments of humor, the tone is generally quite bleak, with an underlying darkness threaded throughout. Craig Roberts creates a visually stunning world, full of surprises, with surreal scenes that deliver a sense of dreaming, mirroring the emotional turmoil of Jim.

A standout aspect of the movie is Trystan Gravelle's portrayal of the lead character, Jim. He plays Jim as an entirely isolated character, illustrating his bitterness and yearning for more, fiercely protective of his life at the same time. Gravelle's performance is subtle, with an intricate sense of naturalism that makes Jim relatable, his story heartwarming and life-affirming.

Emile Hirsch as Dean plays his character with virtuosic ease, he has a sense of fun, irreverence, and freedom that personifies the American ideas of independence and allures Jim like an enchanted solution. Hirsch seems to bring a photographic memory and a bit of improvisation to the movie, which underscores the film's perpetual liveliness.

Mark Lewis Jones shines as Jim's unconventional father, whose stern and distant demeanor contrasts with Jim's playful and imaginative instincts. The strained relationship between Jim and his father is an essential subtext of the movie and lends itself to more of the movie's emotionally complex moments.

Just Jim truly is a captivating movie that explores themes of identity, belonging, and the struggle to break out of patterns and routines. It's a movie about the internal battles that we all face, with a message that we are all seeking something, even when we can't quite figure out what that is.

The movie's primary flaw is that the last act feels rushed compared to the rest of the film. There's a sense that the film's conclusion was negotiated or edited down for time. But overall, the film is well directed and wonderfully acted, and it never takes itself too seriously. Just Jim is the sort of movie that you'll likely remember for months or even years after viewing it.

Just Jim is a 2015 comedy with a runtime of 1 hour and 24 minutes. It has received moderate reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 5.7.