Movie reviews: Hollywood and Indie, specializing in independent comedies, dramas, thrillers and romance.
Wednesday, October 5, 2022
Jumping from High Places: Movie Review
Charming and relatable but also bland and minimal.
The Italian title Per Lanciarsi Dalle Stelle translates roughly as To Launch from the Stars. The English title Jumping from High Places is a bit more descriptive, but neither titles are to be taken literally. They’re just about getting the idea across of getting over fear and anxiety to be able to live up to one’s true potential. It’s an Italian romantic drama with very little happening.
2022
Directed by: Andrea Jublin
Screenplay by: Alice Urciuolo
Starring: Federica Torchetti
Sole is our lead character. She breaks the fourth wall constantly as a way to introduce herself – she’s 25, she suffers from anxiety, has a therapist, her childhood best friend Emma moved away and then died two years ago, she’s in love with Emma’s brother Massimo, and now she’s psychologically stuck. Her fear of pretty much everything has stopped her from going to school, it has stopped her from making friends or doing things she enjoys. So she mostly hangs out at home and listens to her nagging mother.
The general plot sees Sole getting drunk at a party that her mother forced her to go to, but then she meets a sad, shy boy and an older childhood friend takes pity on her, and slowly gets her out of her comfort zone. Meanwhile Massimo is back home for the summer and Sole attempts to get over her crush.
There’s very little jumping from high places going on – just one person diving into the sea in the background as Sole watches. Her anxiety is so severe that she’s not just scared of heights, she’s scared of watching other people jump from heights. She’s still however a relatable character. Most younger viewers who have any form of anxiety is likely to see some of themselves in her. She's cute, not annoying, and it’s very easy to cheer her on. An enjoyable lead character. The issue is that the film moves so slowly and she does very little for us to cheer her on – she takes a drawing class, gets in a boat and goes swimming in the open water. And that’s about it, and that takes most of the run time.
The two boys – Massimo and Danio - are both cute but with very bland, non-descript personalities. Viewers can’t get to know them well enough to be able to form opinions on who she should be with.
The trailer and promotional images all highlight beautiful scenery and there is, but the other Netflix Italian romantic dramas this year both have better cinematography with jaw-dropping locales. Jumping from High Places features a charming and enjoyable lead character, but has very little actually happening.
