Space Cowboy tells the revealing and engaging story of pioneering skydive cinematographer Joe Jennings, with moments that take your breath away.
Directors: Marah Strauch & Bryce Leavitt
Genre: Documentary
Run Time: 98′
TIFF Screening: September 6, 2024
There is a good chance you have never heard of Joe Jennings. But if you have ever seen Charlie’s Angels, xXx, the Point Break remake, or maybe even a commercial that featured skydiving, you will have seen his work. Jennings is a pioneer of skydiving cinematography and stunt work, but his achievements have gone fairly unsung for years.
That changes with Space Cowboy, an enjoyable documentary charting the triumphant highs and lows of his life whilst following him as he embarks on one project that has (so far) been left incomplete: a stunt involving four passengers sitting in a car as it plummets from 15,000 feet in the air.
The filmstarts with Joe and a friend in a scrapyard, looking for a small vehicle to use. He has always been obsessed with dropping large objects from the sky: shopping trolleys, furnaces, and even living room sets. And he has pushed over 100 cars out of a plane to capture this stunt. However, as those failed attempts prove, there are gigantic risks. Weighing up to 2000 pounds, cars can behave unpredictably and erratically in the air. Once it starts rocking back and forth, there is every chance it can hit and injure you. Therefore, Joe sets out to turn his dream into an achievable reality.
Whilst all this is happening, the film begins to tell his story. His father was a photographer, which led to a love for videography. However, he had challenges growing up in New Jersey, being diagnosed with ADHD and his parents separating after a turbulent marriage. Years later, whilst at college in California, he discovers the two things that will determine the rest of his life. The first is his future wife, Sissy. The second comes when she takes him skydiving. Joe is instantly hooked. He becomes a ‘camera flyer,’ filming regular people diving, before meeting a multi-talented skysurfer (a skydiver on a snowboard) named Rob Harris.
With Joe filming Rob’s tricks and moves with equal panache, the two are soon working on commercials together and competing in world championships and X Games. Then tragedy strikes.
Marah Strauch is familiar with documentaries about individuals who made a name for themselves by launching themselves from great heights. Her first feature, 2014’s Sunshine Superman, was about the father of the BASE jumping movement Carl Boenish. In Space Cowboy, Strauch (alongside her debuting co-director Bryce Leavitt) tackles another man who has spent his life devoted to a reckless pursuit. The narrative structure is simple, going back and forth between Joe going through his life and preparing for this ambitious stunt. The latter sees Joe trying to make the car light enough for it to stay flat and involves a series of modifications and intricate problem-solving that is satisfying to watch.
Meanwhile, talking head interviews with Joe’s family and friends are aided by an incredible wealth of footage that conveys the scary but exhilarating feelings that skydiving generates. The footage ranges from the unbelievable set of a parachute being set on fire to a first-person POV shot plunging through the clouds. Equally revealing is the collection of videos from Joe’s days as a camera flyer and the reactions from normal people. The mix of adrenaline and fear on display reinforces the equal sense of thrill and terror that this extreme sport provides.
What has always fascinated Joe about skydiving is bringing the experience down to normal people and bringing everyday things up into the air. And so, his ‘freefall cinematography’ has allowed audiences to experience daredevil action like never before (with a boxing helmet rigged with cameras and a mouth-operated shutter) whilst conjuring surreal sights. However, amidst the titles and production work that ranged from pizza commercials to Baywatch, Strauch and Leavitt highlight the darker periods of Joe’s life. The X Games (established during the ‘cool’ Gen-X ‘90s) brought him a level of fame to which he wasn’t quite accustomed. He was more insecure and inward, a complete contrast to the effortless Rob.
Then there is the fact that skydiving can be a deadly profession – something Joe experienced first-hand, as recounted in a sequence with a sad conclusion. He was already battling clinical depression, and now he had suffered an unfathomable loss. But at the same time, you get a sense of how he fought through it – with a dedication to his craft and an unyielding love for Sissy and his two sons, Joey and Sammy.
That personal touch is one of the things that makes Space Cowboy a revealing and engaging documentary. Conventional but structured perfectly, it is a film that dives into its subject using extraordinary footage, a great soundtrack (including ‘Mad World’ and ELO’s ‘Living Thing’) and a truly memorable finale. And whether you think Joe’s skydiving is foolhardy (one friend even calls him a maniac), Strauch and Leavitt allow you to marvel at his remarkable work. He has jumped out of the sky again and again to film people and objects in seemingly impossible ways. In Space Cowboy, this results in moments that are jaw-droppingly dangerous and moments that take your breath away.
Space Cowboy was screened at TIFF on September 6, 2024. Read our list of films to watch at TIFF 2024!
