''Jimmy'' is a 2013

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Mark Freiburger Stephen Mark Freiburger (born July 16, 1983) is an American filmmaker. Early life and education * Graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in 2005. Film work * Writer/Director of the feature film ''Between Borders'', ...

and based on the novel by

Robert Whitlow Robert Whitlow is an American film-maker and a best-selling author of fifteen legal thrillers. He is also a contributor to a short story ''The Rescuers'', a story included in the book ''What The Wind Picked Up'' by The ChiLibris Ring. In 2001, h ...

, who co-wrote the adaptation with Freiburger and producer Gary Wheeler.

Plot

The central character of the film is Jimmy Mitchell, a fourteen-year-old boy with mild intellectual disability (described in the film as having an IQ between 59 and 70). In the quaint town of Pinery Grove,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, he lives under the loving care of his family, striving to overcome the day-to-day struggles that surface. While deprived of mental normality, he is supernaturally gifted with a unique capibility to see beyond what most see. A supernatural element coincides with his unique spiritual gift, as angelic beings he calls "Watchers", are seen throughout his everyday experiences. His profound sense of observation leads him into trouble when stumbling onto ''the wrong place at the wrong time'' (which proves an arbitrary habit for Jimmy), as he must testify in a pivotal trial what he bore witness to.

Cast

Ian Colletti Ian Colletti (born March 3, 1997) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as List_of_Preacher_characters#Arseface, Eugene "Arseface" Root in the AMC television series Preacher (TV series), Preacher. He also played the teenage son of ...

as Jimmy Mitchell *

Ted Levine Frank Theodore Levine (born May 29, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Jame Gumb (Buffalo Bill) in the film '' The Silence of the Lambs'' (1991) and Leland Stottlemeyer in the television series ''Monk'' (2002–2009 ...

as James Lee Mitchell *

Kelly Carlson Kelly Lee Carlson (born February 17, 1976) is a former American actress and model. She is best known for her role as Kimber Henry in the FX drama series ''Nip/Tuck''. Career Carlson was raised in Bloomington, Minnesota, and attended the Acad ...

as Ellen Mitchell *

Patrick Fabian Patrick Fabian (born December 7, 1964) is an American film, stage, and television actor. He is best known for his role as attorney Howard Hamlin in ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–2022). His film roles include '' End Game'' (2006), '' Cloud 9'' ( ...

as Lee Mitchell *

Bob Gunton Robert Patrick Gunton Jr. (born November 15, 1945) is an American character actor of stage and screen. He is known for playing strict authoritarian characters, including Warden Samuel Norton in the 1994 prison drama ''The Shawshank Redemption'', ...

as Sheriff Brinson *

Burgess Jenkins Burgess Jenkins (born October 24, 1973) is an American actor and director who has had a steady career in television and film for more than two decades. He is best known for his role as Bobby Irons on '' One Tree Hill,'' Ray Budds in the film '' ...

as Jake Garner *

Jackson Pace Jackson Pace (born February 19, 1999) is an American actor. He was a series regular in the Showtime television series ''Homeland'', playing Chris Brody from 2011 to 2013. He also portrays Gage in the AMC zombie hit series '' The Walking Dead''. ...

as Max Cochran *

Gregory Alan Williams Gregory Alan Williams (born June 12, 1956) sometimes credited as Gregalan Williams, is an American actor and author. He is best known for portraying LAPD Officer Garner Ellerbee in ''Baywatch''. From 2011 until 2013, Williams portrayed the role ...

as Coach Sellers * R. Keith Harris as Brother Fitzgerald *

Stelio Savante Stelio Savante is a South African actor that has appeared in 140 films, TV series and video games in the last three decades. He is known for his roles as a South African/Israeli journalist and undercover Mossad agent opposite Jim Caviezel and ...

as Mr. Laney

Production

Producer Gary Wheeler had previously directed two adaptations of author Robert Whitlow's novels, '' The List'' (2007) and ''

The Trial ''The Trial'' () is a novel written by Franz Kafka in 1914 and 1915 and published posthumously on 26 April 1925. One of his best-known works, it tells the story of Josef K., a man arrested and prosecuted by a remote, inaccessible authority, wi ...

''(2010), and had chosen to only co-write and produce the film adaptation of ''Jimmy'', a Whitlow novel published in 2005. He gave a copy of the novel to Mark Freiburger, who had co-written the previous adaptations, with the suggestion of his directing the film adaptation. After Whitlow's approval, Freiburger signed on to direct the film, enthusiastic about working with an actor on developing the portrayal of a mentally disabled character and "making it believable for an audience".

Release and reception

The film premiered worldwide on the

Up TV UP TV (stylized as UPtv; formerly GMC TV and originally Gospel Music Channel) is an American basic cable television network that was founded to have a focus on gospel music. It has expanded into family-friendly original movies, series, and specia ...

network on June 2nd, 2013, and was released to DVD on June 4th in the US. In October 2013, it had a limited theatrical release in twenty cities, four months after the DVD release. The film has also played at numerous events and film festivals.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 1376205 2013 television films 2013 films Films set in Georgia (U.S. state) Films based on American novels Films about intellectual disability Films shot in North Carolina American drama television films 2013 drama films 2010s American films