Lover's Jump

Lovers Jump is a short film by Irish filmmaker Mark McCombe, starring Australian actor Laurence Fuller and concerning the aftermath of a woman's death. Like all the best short fiction, whether it be a film or a piece of literature, it reveals a story to the audience and then turns your expectations on their head. Most of this is achieved through cryptic dialogue and an interesting visual grammer made up of extreme close ups and wide shots.

My only criticism of Lovers Jump is a technical one, the background noise tends to fluctuate a little bit... I think it could've been adjusted so that it's more consistent when the film cuts from shot to shot. It's only a little thing, some viewers won't even notice it, but I found it a little distracting. Other than that it's an incredibly well-made piece of micro-narrative, I watched it a few times. I could see myself using it in an educational capacity in the classroom for students who are interested in filmmaking and storytelling construction. Laurence Fuller drives the whole film with a slightly sinister performance made up of carefully chosen words and knowing looks.

McCombe has a good sense of space and knows how to use it to tell a story without resorting to gimmicky camera play. I liked the way it abruptly cuts to credits about 70% through the film before coming back for a mood-setting final shot... it's a nice subversion of filmic conventions, and suggests that McCombe will be a director to look out for in the future if given the chance (and budget) to make something significantly larger. If Lovers Jump is any indication of style and subject matter, McCombe may well have a career in tough, uncompromising dramas.

DIRECTOR: Mark McCombe
WRITER/SOURCE: Jenny Wong
KEY ACTORS: Laurence Fuller, Holly Clark

RELATED TEXTS:
- An article on Mark McCombe at the movieScope Magazine website can be found here.
- Laurence Fuller's website details the actors involvements with several acclaimed short films and bigger projects.