By Jorge Ignacio Castillo

Jimpa (Australia/UK, 2025. Dir: Sophie Hyde): Following his casting as Albus Dumbledore in the upcoming TV adaptation of the “Harry Potter” books, John Lithgow caught some flak from the transgender community for aligning himself with frequent antagonist J.K. Rowling.

Alas, if there’s someone who deserves special consideration in this scenario, it’s Lithgow. Not only has he been an LGBTQ+ ally, his role as Roberta Muldoon in The World According to Garp (1982) marked a cultural Rubicon for the genderqueer community. By embodying a three-dimensional, fully fleshed-out character, John Lithgow changed social preconceptions and moved the acceptance needle.

Jimpa reminded me of Garp often. It’s not just that the lead is transgender. Jimpa introduces several topics rarely seen in American cinema, but worth exploring. How do you adapt parenting strategies to raise a transitioning teen? Does placing limits hinder their development? Can you be old-fashioned when you’re an adventurous old gay man who barely survived the 80s? Is there such a thing as being too liberal? Jimpa is great at posing provocative questions, but not as good at proposing responses.

A filmmaker struggling with an autobiographical project, Hannah (Olivia Colman) takes her nonbinary teen, Frances (Aud Mason-Hyde), from Adelaide to Amsterdam to visit their grandfather (John Lithgow). Known to Frances as “Jimpa”, Grandpa is a legendary figure in the gay rights movement, and she idolizes him. But those who know him better know that Jimpa is like any other boomer: he struggles with concepts like “pronouns” or “gender-fluid”, thinks of himself and his peers as the greatest generation, and is in denial about his aging. It’s up to Frances to determine if Jimpa is the best person to grow up beside to in the exciting Netherlands, or whether is her mom in the not nearly as forward-thinking Australian society.

As compelling and stupendously acted as Jimpa is, the film fails to live up to its promise. The many subjects the movie dips its toe into are either abandoned midway (Frances’ emerging sexuality) or unsatisfactory wrapped up (dealing with jealousy in polyamory and open relationships). The theoretical lead of the film, Aud Mason-Hyde, is set up to fail given the juicy material that the often underserved Olivia Colman and John Lithgow are given.

While not entirely successful, Jimpa proves there is untapped material in family dramas. All that’s needed is a willingness to dig deeper and venture into unconfortable territory. All this to say: don’t expect mainstream American cinema to produce something like this anytime soon. ★★★½☆

Jimpa is now playing at the TIFF Lightbox.