Jumbo (2021) Movie Drinking Game
Take a Drink: for every dream sequence.
Do a Shot: when each person discovers Noemie’s love.
Do a Shot: for every Close Encounters of the Third Kind-type scene.
Take a Drink: every time Noemie is tinkering with her models.
By: Movie Snurb (Three Beers) –
Jumbo follows the story of Jeanne (Noemie Merlant, Portrait of a Lady on Fire) a custodial worker at an amusement park who is in love with a ride. Her age is vague, probably late high school to early 20s. She lives with her mother and works nights at the amusement park. During the night she has increasingly passionate encounters with a Tilt-A-Whirl-esque type ride that she calls Jumbo. Even when she is not working at the park, she builds mini replicas of rides in her room. Her obsession has completely taken over her life.
A Toast
Just as in Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Noemie is brilliant in this film. Her ability to convey emotion without speaking is a talent that only the best actors can do. She is a quiet character; the most she talks is to Jumbo, who can’t talk back, except in Jeanne’s mind. Though it is based on a real story and we’ve all seen My Strange Addiction, it still makes for a semi-ridiculous premise. However, it’s Noemie’s commitment to the role that sells the film. Without her performance and commitment to it, this film would have really fallen flat.
The beauty of this film took me aback. Not just the tender way Zoe Wittock tells the story, but the cinematography and lighting she deploys as well. Maybe it’s the A24 effect, but the neon colors lighting a movie never gets old. Not just the night scenes between Jeanne and Jumbo, but Jeanne’s dream sequences are beautiful to witness. Speaking of A24, there is a dream sequence that is definitely inspired by Under the Skin. I know you’ll be able to tell when it happens. My only regret is that I didn’t get to see this in theaters. The excellent camerawork and lighting would have been something to see on a big screen in a pitch-black theater.
Beer Two
The film is short, too short. We do not spend enough time with Noemie and getting to understand why she loves Jumbo. When did the obsession begin? Why does she love an inanimate object? The film never delves deeper into this; it remains surface level, and I wish it would have gone deeper into Noemie’s mind.
Beer Three
Another place Zoe could have gone deeper was the relationship between Noemie and her mother. I don’t know if this was intentional, but it seems that part of Noemie’s sexual interests are a result of her relationship with her mother. Her mother is very open about her sex life and dressed very inappropriately when she thought she was meeting Noemie’s boyfriend. There has got to be some kind of trauma from Noemie’s childhood that has stuck with her. Also, some type of enmeshment as well. We could’ve have explored this relationship deeper.
Verdict
Jumbo is definitely a ride I do not regret taking, but it left me a little underwhelmed.
