Objectum sexuality is one of the more unheard-of orientations in our social climate and when I first heard about Zoé Wittock's debut film Jumbo, I was instantly compelled. A romantic drama between the breakout star of (my personal favorite romance film) Céline Sciamma's Portrait of a Lady on Fire and a Tilt-a-Whirl is such a unique concept that I knew I had to see for myself. There was so much genuine excitement and intrigue building up in me until I was finally able to view this movie and unfortunately, I left feeling a bit less than satisfied. What could have been a wonderfully eccentric love story on par with Spike Jonze's Her ends up being a tonal mess that never sticks to what it promises while simultaneously distancing me even farther from learning about this particular sexual orientation. While the performances from the cast are excellent and the cinematography sure is pretty, I was never able to get into this as much as I desperately wanted.
Jeanne (Noémie Merlant) is a young, shy woman who just starts working at a theme park when a new ride called the "Move-It" is brought into the collection of attractions. She quickly and furiously develops a strong, romantic connection to the ride and struggles to pursue what she loves while dealing with her hypocritical and discriminatory mother Margarette (Emmanuelle Bercot). This film, written and directed by Zoé Wittock, had the potential to be so many different, great things. It could have been a downright lovely romance story between Jeanne and the ride while slowly but surely developing their relationship. It could have been a learning experience for the audience about objectum sexuality and its educated link to people with autism. And it also could have been a straight-up, sci-fi romp that leaves its viewers in awe at its beauty. What Wittock fails to do with Jumbo, however, is pick any of those paths and stick with it. There are elements of each one included here and there but no route was ever fully explored, leaving me confused as to what Wittock was trying to accomplish. The writing and dialogue make sense for each of the characters included in the story but their motivations and reasons for what they do became blurred right off the bat. There are a lot of scenes included throughout this film that would have been so interesting and visually entertaining if Wittock would have stuck with one idea but instead, her direction leaves the audience confused as to what kind of movie they just watched. The biggest issue with her script is that it never takes itself seriously. On the surface, a woman falling in love with a theme park ride sounds kinda goofy but some of the best romance movies are that way; at least until the director takes their work seriously. If Wittock would have spent more time developing the character of Jeanne and why her assumed autism is linked to her attraction to the "Move-It," I would have been absolutely down. The film would have been a wonderfully idiosyncratic love story that even teaches its audience a thing or two but I just think reducing Jeanne's personality to her mother calling her "special" is a bit lazy and offensive.
I really, really wanted to love this but with every passing minute, it became clear that Wittock was not sure how to approach her own story. Her direction is all over the place, riddled with bits and pieces of other, more concise romance movies. One of the other big issues was how she never decides on a tone for the film. This has to do with not picking one path for the writing but it also has to do with the kind of aesthetic she was aiming for. As the film began, the coming-of-age vibes were immaculate, complete with a punky rock beginning introducing us to a character that is definitely not the popular one. However, this soon transitions into the love story that takes up most of the film but Wittock dips in and out of the tone she was trying to achieve. I was constantly confused as to the pacing of this story and Wittock's lack of sticking with one tone did not help that at all. I also thought that Jumbo could have been a gorgeous sci-fi romance film and there are scenes that made me think that was the ending it was going for. The Tilt-a-Whirl moves by itself and seems to be sentient and while that was never explained, I wish it would have been. A sci-fi approach to this story would be so interesting and would have definitely better justified the stunning cinematography from Thomas Buelens. The way Buelens shoots this movie is incredible, as he lends a helping hand to the VFX artists in crafting some astounding shots. The way the camera moves and reflects Jeanne's relationship with the attraction almost makes it seem like the ride could have lifted up and taken Jeanne away at any moment. However, just like Wittock's direction, that was never really confirmed, and the ridiculously corny last ten minutes of Jumbo only makes the film that much more confusing overall. Despite all of the glaring problems with the writing and direction, Merlant and Bercot give it all they've got. They are some of the most talented French actresses that we have today and their mother-daughter dynamic was made very believable mostly because of them. I loved seeing them eat up their roles and even though I was not very satisfied with what this film was trying to do, their talent carries this movie.
Jumbo is a bit of a ginormous mess and one that strangely left me even more curious than when I started. Although I still adore Merlant as a performer and see a fantastic future for Wittock as a director, I think this film was more of a strikeout in a creative world where it easily could have been a home run. Not many of its topics were fully fleshed out, it could never decide on a path, and the musically-inspired, coming-of-age scenes just did not work. It's a bummer, too, because I just really wanted to love this amusement park romance.
My Rating: ★★½
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