Review of There`s Only One Jimmy Grimble

Introduction

There’s Only One Jimmy Grimble is a coming of age story about a young football fanatic (and Man City) supporter – the eponymous Jimmy Grimble. Jimmy is an exceptionally talented footballer but has low self confidence and his silky skills desert him whenever he is in public. Also, being a Man City supporter (and, in fairness, a bit of an odd loner) he is bullied by pretty much everybody.

Thanks to a pair of magic football boots (yeah, right) Jimmy finds the confidence to play in public and helps his team into the School’s Cup Final. Along the way, he (kinda) falls in love with the new girl at the school and helps his disaffected coach to rediscover his love of football.

I’ll admit that it sounds like a cliché from start to finish. And it is but it is also extremely well done and worth your time. Read on.

Video

The video is presented in 1.85:1 Anamorphic widescreen format and is generally excellent. There is an occasional bit of grain but you’d have to be a picky reviewer who is looking out for these things to notice it.

Although set in Manchester, the filmmakers have gone to great pains to ensure that this isn’t just another “It’s Grim Up North” movie. The film never looks less than attractive. At times, such as the snow dancing around Jimmy as he walks home, the cinematography is gorgeous.

Audio

For a small British film the soundtrack is impressively HUGE. Every studded footfall resonates through an alley or a stadium. Every impact of boot on ball (or in one memorable case face on ball) has weight and depth and will give the LFE a good workout. Also, throughout the film excellent use is made of all speakers with ambient and spot effects. Great stuff.

The score by Simon Boswell and Alex James is affecting and effective but is overshadowed by the superb use of (mostly Northern) music. Standout tracks are the Apollo 440 remix of Two Tribes used to capture the (pretty brutal) first league match and Fatboy Slim’s Right Here, Right Now perfectly used during the euphoric final. All the music is given an expansive DD 5.1 mix and gives you a BIG sound. This is a feelgood soundtrack (for a feelgood movie) and its proud of it

Features

Jimmy comes with a respectable set of features.

The trailer does a decent job of whetting your appetite for the feature and is complemented by a fairly informative Featurette.

There is a storyboard of Jimmy’s first outing for the team with the option of playing the featured scene directly. Also, you are given the opportunity of viewing some of the initial casting tapes. These are fairly dispensable and make you wonder how the actors actually got their roles if this was all the casting director had to go on.

Best of all, though, is the commentary with director (and co-writer of the screenplay) John Hay. John gives a detailed (and very cultured) account of the writing, casting and filmmaking process. This is both informative and enjoyable.

Conclusion

This is a feelgood movie about one boy and his football boots with no pretensions of being anything else and, as such, succeeds admirably. It uses every trick in the book to make you smile or cheer (often simultaneously) but does so with such style that you are happy to go along for the ride. The cinematography and soundtrack work beautifully together to heighten the atmosphere.

The performances are generally good to excellent. Lewis McKensie as Jimmy is especially good in his first acting role. He is nervous, insecure, gauche and charming – just like an adolescent boy. Much of the film plays off Jimmy’s reactions to the world around him and Lewis does a nice job of portraying those reactions. Ray Winstone does his usual excellent job of portraying the gentle Harry, the suitor of Jimmy’s mother who is equally well played by Gina McKee. The acting side is let down a bit by Robert Carlyle who, while never less than professional, exhibits no spark as the team’s coach. Admittedly, the coach is supposed to be a broken man with no spark but you know what I mean.

Overall, a great night’s entertainment. Go on, Jimmy boy.