Run & Jump

Dynamo wife and mother Vanetia is rebuilding the life she loved after her 38-year-old husband suffers a personality-changing stroke. Entering the emotional fray is buttoned-up American researcher Ted Fielding, who’s staying for two months. Run & Jump is an unconventional love story and authentic portrait of a happy-go-lucky Irish family. Vanetia Casey (Maxine Peake), the spirited and impossibly optimistic center of the Casey family, is working hard to get life back to normal after her 38 year-old husband, Conor (Edward MacLiam), suffers a rare stroke which changes his personality. Tweedy American doctor, Ted Fielding, (Will Forte) arrives in Ireland to stay with them for two months: his research grant providing the Caseys with essential financial aid. Vanetia’s a dynamo. But with two young kids and both men in the house, she’s feeling bombarded and initially treats Ted and his study of Conor with resistance. Only when she observes Ted’s calming influence on the family does she begin to value his friendship, and, in return, Ted enjoys their heady, happy-go-lucky world. He’s not normally given to repartee but he can’t stop himself sparking off Vanetia. But Ted’s continued presence in the house sets the family on course for an emotional collision.