Jimpa Review: A Heartfelt Tribute in Need of a Sharper Scalpel
Director: Sophie Hyde
Cast: Olivia Colman, John Lithgow, Aud Mason
My Rating: 6.1/10 |
Release Date: March 6, 2026
The Verdict Box
Jimpa is thoughtful, warm, and occasionally frustrating in equal measure, where the performances - especially from Olivia Colman and John Lithgow - are wonderful, but the film often feels like it can’t stop explaining itself.
Generational Gaps and Narrative Bloat
Some movies feel like long conversations that occasionally drift into silence, but Jimpa is the opposite, as it talks constantly - about family, sexuality, identity, generational change, memory, resentment - and occasionally, in between all that talking, it sometimes lands on something that feels incredibly honest.
Jimpa is about Hannah, played by Olivia Colman, a filmmaker traveling from Adelaide to Amsterdam with her non-binary teenager Frances (Aud Mason), where they’re visiting Hannah’s father Jim“Jimpa”, played by John Lithgow.
Hannah claims the trip is partly personal and partly professional - she’s working on a film about her father’s supposedly “conflict-free” life - a movie about someone trying to tell a story that avoids conflict almost guarantees that conflict is waiting around the corner, right?
Jimpa himself is certainly an interesting figure, as he’s an aging activist who lived through the AIDS crisis, built a life around queer community and political engagement, and now inhabits Amsterdam with a loose, open sense of freedom - he wears leather vests, has an open-door social circle, and speaks with the kind of breezy confidence that suggests he has survived enough history to believe he understands how the world works.
We also have Frances, who is exploring their own identity in ways that feel modern and fluid, but Jimpa, despite being a longtime queer activist, still carries an older vocabulary - he jokes dismissively about labels, casually misgenders Frances once or twice, and generally treats modern terminology with the kind of amused skepticism older relatives sometimes have when confronted with language they didn’t grow up with.
I did like this aspect of the film, as it feels believable - Jimpa isn’t a villain, and Frances isn’t framed as overly sensitive - they’re just speaking different cultural dialects, and the film recognizes that queer history moves quickly - what felt radical in one decade can feel outdated in the next.
Where the movie starts to struggle is pacing, as the runtime pushes past two hours, and the story begins wandering into side roads that feel oddly indulgent - a subplot about a dog with a bladder tumor appears and lingers far longer than expected - and there are long stretches of conversations with secondary characters that feel like they belong in a documentary about queer history rather than a narrative drama.
When the movie does refocus its attention on the core trio - Hannah, Frances, and Jimpa - it becomes genuinely engaging, where Olivia Colman plays Hannah as someone who has quietly avoided emotional confrontation for most of her life - she smiles through discomfort, deflects awkward questions, and constantly reframes tension as something manageable.
There’s also a recurring sense that Hannah’s documentary project is more about actually protecting herself from the complicated feelings she still carries about him, and the “conflict-free life” she’s trying to portray starts to feel suspiciously like a story she’s telling herself.
Also read my Hedda Review, Undercard Review, and Accused Review.
Geniuses at Play
The acting is really good and I did enjoy the performances, and John Lithgow in particular is clearly having fun here, where he's the kind of person who can be both inspiring and exhausting within the same conversation, and his performance walks that fine line between lovable and frustrating, and he is particularly good in the quieter scenes, and that's when he really shines - when the bravado fades, you see flashes of vulnerability underneath - and there’s a subtle anxiety about aging, about relevance, about whether the world he helped shape still has a place for him.
And Olivia Colman does what she always does - she makes hesitation fascinating - where she spends most of the film processing, absorbing, deciding whether or not to push back, and Colman turns that internal conflict into something watchable, while Aud Mason brings this natural, understated presence to Frances, where their performance feels less theatrical than the others, which works well for the character, as Frances is curious, observant, and quietly determined to figure out their place in the world.
At times, though, Mason does get slightly overshadowed, and it occasionally feels like the film slips into an acting showcase between two veterans while the younger character drifts slightly to the background.
Hazy Memories and Flashbacks
Director Sophie Hyde uses flashbacks and montage sequences to give glimpses of Jimpa’s past, and these moments introduce fragments of queer history - friends, lovers, protests, parties - and they’re visually distinct from the present-day narrative.
At first, these sequences are quite evocative, where they feel like memories being recalled in fragments rather than fully reconstructed scenes - the lighting becomes hazier, the colors slightly exaggerated, and the pacing loosens - but after a while they begin to feel repetitive, and instead of adding emotional depth, they start to resemble stylized inserts that interrupt the main story rather than support it.
The dialogue also has a tendency to drift into lecture mode, and characters occasionally speak in long, carefully articulated explanations about identity or generational politics, and at times it sounded more like a panel discussion.
Ironically, the strongest scenes are the simplest ones - quiet dinners, awkward walks through Amsterdam, moments where no one is explaining anything and the tension is allowed to exist naturally.
Queer Section: The “Friend of Dorothy” Gap
One of the film’s most interesting ideas is the generational gap inside queer communities themselves - Jimpa represents a generation that fought for survival and visibility, while Frances represents a generation exploring identity in more fluid ways.
At one point Jimpa casually dismisses the idea of bisexuality, and Frances, meanwhile, has no idea what the phrase “friend of Dorothy” means.
Neither of them is entirely wrong, but neither fully understands the other, and the film treats these clashes with a kind of gentle patience, where nobody becomes the villain, as the conflicts remain personal rather than ideological.
Spoilers ahead.
Ending Explained
The Decision: While Frances's primary desire is to stay in Amsterdam to explore their queer identity, Jimpa’s sudden health crisis upends these plans, with Frances returning home with their mother, carrying a new perspective rather than a new residence.
The “No Conflict” Movie: Hannah finally acknowledges that her documentary idea was a kind of emotional shield.
The Revelation: Late in the film, Jimpa’s health becomes an issue, introducing themes of autonomy and mortality.
The Final Frame: The movie ends quietly with Hannah and Frances sharing a moment of recognition.
Jimpa FAQ
Is Jimpa based on a real person?
Yes, director Sophie Hyde has said the character is loosely inspired by her own father.
Who plays Hannah’s sister Emily?
The role is played by Kate Box.
Where can I watch Jimpa?
The film has been playing in limited theatrical release and is expected to arrive on Apple TV+ later in the year.
Does the film contain nudity?
Yes, it includes scenes of physical nudity and explores themes of polyamory and sexual exploration.
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