Olivia Colman Says Jimpa Stirred Regrets About Her Dad
Olivia Colman says jimpa made her think about fights with her dad, a reaction that sits alongside the film’s family tensions rather than its plot alone. In the new drama, she plays Hannah, who leaves Adelaide with her husband and 16-year-old child for Amsterdam after Frances, their trans teenager, says they want to move to the Netherlands and finish schooling there.
Colman, Lithgow and Hannah
The film puts John Lithgow in the role of Jimpa, Hannah’s father, an 80-year-old gay septuagenarian who has spent 40 years doing drama after leaving his family for a fuller queer life than Australia at the end of the 20th century could offer. That gives the story a sharper edge than a standard family reunion: Hannah is already managing her child’s announcement thoughtfully, while the trip to Amsterdam forces the past back into view.
Hannah is also a filmmaker trying to sell an autobiographical feature idea about two parents in the 1980s. In that version, the father comes out as gay while the couple stay together as platonic co-parents, and the producers cut through the pitch with a simple objection: “Where the hell would be the drama in that?”
Sophie Hyde in Adelaide
Sophie Hyde directed the film from Adelaide, and she said, “Can we ask our characters to respond with loving kindness, when usually our instinct is instant conflict?” That is the film’s real pressure point. It is not built on shouting, but on whether a family can sit inside a hard conversation without collapsing into the easiest reaction.
Aud Mason-Hyde played Frances and spent their 19th birthday on the set. They said, “I’m quite outspoken and opinionated, and they are opinionated but in a much more observant way,” then added, “I had to exercise a lot of restraint.” For a story about a young trans person, that restraint is part of the point: Frances is asking for schooling and a move, while the adults are being forced to answer with care instead of reflex.
Frances and the move
The film’s practical stakes are clear: Frances wants to relocate to the Netherlands and finish schooling there, and Hannah and Harry respond thoughtfully when the request lands at the airport. That keeps Jimpa from turning into a simple generational clash. It becomes a family negotiation about identity, schooling, and where a young person can actually live.
Colman’s own reaction is what gives the film extra weight. Playing Hannah pushed her into thinking about her father and the arguments that linger after the fact. That is the part of Jimpa that should travel furthest with viewers: not the setup, but the uncomfortable family arithmetic underneath it.
