Directed by: Tom Ryan
Starring: Aoife Spratt, Audrey Hamilton, Niamh Algar, Kevin O'Malley, Maggie Donovan
Trampoline is a great little independent film about Angie (Spratt), a twenty-something who is in a rut and decides to move back in with her mother and sister after years away. With no real career prospects, Angie decides she might as well follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a teacher. While Angie’s mother loves the idea, her sister believes she is only trying to suck up to her mother because she wasn’t there during the divorce with her father. In the beginning, things seem to be looking up, and it seems like Angie just might have found her calling, but sadly for Angie, it doesn’t take long until her teaching career begins to fall apart just as fast as her personal life. After losing her teaching position, it finally becomes clear to a few around her how bad things have gotten for her. In her downward spiral, Angie becomes more desperate to find happiness in different places, but as more doors close, she finally comes to one that she hadn’t considered before.
The story is pretty simple and at times maybe a little predictable, but don’t let its simplicity fool you into dismissing this as just another “finding themselves” independent film. This one is special. There is something simple and compelling about the rut Angie finds herself in. It’s engaging, emotional, thought out, and most importantly, incredibly relatable. Everyone can relate to a time in life where life seems to be too much, and it seems like life itself is against them at every turn. It’s a terrifying and helpless feeling to experience (to do what seems like the right thing, but nothing pans outs) and this film nails it.
The cast, as a whole, does a fine job filling their individual roles, but the emotional weight of the film is all up to Spratt, and she does a great job of conveying the range of emotion the film requires of her. No one else in the film really stands out, but none really need to because this is Angie’s story. And while her story may not be the most original, it does a lot to help elevate the emotion by having each character build off each other in real ways that help the audience connect to what is happening.
It actually amazes me how much I enjoyed this film because I have seen dozens like it, but only a few have been able to connect on a strong enough level to stick with me for any considerable time. It is a great feeling to connect to a character, not unlike yourself, who goes through the same doubts and concerns you do. It gives hope to those who are right in the thick of their own problems and sometimes it helps for people to be reminded that they aren’t alone.
8/10
Andy Comer