A Running Jump is a slice of life film from Mike Leigh but it differs from some of his other films because it was made as part of the 2012 Olympics program of films and within it he seems to be trying to capture the "sport" within normal life of people in the East End of London. The plot focuses on a used car salesman rushing to try and get a sale through and in the process of this it drags in his family members who are also doing various activities from driving a cab to teaching a gym class to drinking at the pub. The plot doesn't really matter though because even Leigh described this film as a series of gags and, unfortunately, they are not specific jokes that will make you laugh so in that regard the film didn't work for me.
What did work though and what makes it worth seeing is that it has a great energy to the delivery. The cast, the direction, the dialogue, the music; all of it has a constant movement and pace to it that is quite engaging and caught me up in it quite easily. The various characters come and go across the scenes and they mostly all tie in loosely with the main character doing his thing, but following them all is quite fun, again because of the energy. The camera moves round with a good pace but not in a frantic or annoying way – very smooth and consistent. The cast mostly do the same as well, very natural even if at times the dialogue has an abrasive edge to it. I liked that the film did manage to do the main thing it set out to do though, which was show this activity and sport in day to day life.
It is all pretty evident but in fairness it doesn't have to be all arch and clever about it because it is a true picture to paint to show jogging, people at the gym, people rushing around for work and of course people having discussions about sport and in particular football. This all has a natural ring to it that again I thought worked well. A Running Jump isn't a brilliant film but it has clear parameters and it achieves them really well thanks to the energetic and engaging delivery that is consistent across all aspects of the short film.
