Janet Planet

I mean, if I lean any closer in the theater to hear what you're showing and saying to me, Most Quiet and Tender Little Mother-Daughter How I Spent My Not-Much Summer Vacation Movie of the Last (checks watch) 10 Years, I think I may just fall head-first through the screen and poke out the other side!

The 'Not-Much' may not be totally fair to say, as there are moments and events that are happening in Janet Planet, but why it feels like the 'Not-Much' is because it is a film punctuated practically solely by Life's Little Moments. At the same time, what makes the film so unique, even special, is that writer/director Annie Baker is giving us a child-hood perspective that is morose, possibly depressed, but it's at a low key. The whole film is so at a low key that if you were outside you'd need a shovel to dig into the ground to find where the film is presenting its emotional bandwidth.

Or... that may also not be fair since this is about ultimately how a daughter and a mother have their own problems in life, for Lacy in just connecting to those around her (except for the one time she gets a friend, all too short lived but still a vibrant and alive few minutes both in a lifetime and in the movie), and for Janet with her love lifes with men and women equally. What makes these relationships so unique is how everything, from the shots (sometimes withdrawn so we can see much of the forest and trees and peaceful woods around them and Lacy at one point lying on the ground to where she wants to get away from us as much as her life) to the delivery is, if not at a tender whisper, then certainly (rarely) wirh a raised voice.

I'm not familiar with Baker's plays, but I do think I can respond to and meet a filmmaker halfway when they are creating a set of characters who we don't usually see in not only modern American film but even in other independent cinema throughout the world (maybe the closest to the ultra-delicate feeling here is Wenders and Perfect Days, or some of Kelly Reichardt's work, but even then there's a weirder tone at points and some humor to elevate things), and I like the act of leaning in to, in short, feel what the movie is putting between the lines. This is a spare, deceptively small drama because is about how nothing in life is small when you are attuned to nuances.

For example, the dynamic with Janet and Regina (Okonedo, easily my favorite here for the warmth and uncertainty and nuances even compared to Nicholson, who is always lovely); we never fully know how they met or even if they are trying to fully be a couple together at this time. When they are together though, notice how much Baker is moving from the sort of "I'm sitting in the back trying to figure you out" shots that Lacy has with Wayne (Will Patton! Love that guy) so it is more immediate feeling, but at the same time there are more wounds and fractures in their bond, and that perhaps Lacy can intuit but still isn't fully mature enough to understand (so we know she hears them as they have what amounts to a "heated" argument midway through, which is at... normal volume for most of us but for the film it's like "whoa").

There's a lot of interesting choices to how Lacy looks and acts here that are so minute that I also get why if you come to this not ready for something that is quiet and patient and (I won't use it but maybe others will, it is a "type") Slow, it may frustrate because of how long it takes till... wait, by the end where are Lacy and Janet? She has the slightest expression as she watches all that dancing, and if she doesn't get up then she may still some day, and that's enough.

If there is something I wish could've been explored more it was with Avi, played by such a soft-spoken Elias Koteas that it is rather brilliant (the kind of man where because of his soft tone it takes a moment and strong critical thinking skills to understand what he says and preaches is a bunch of crap). By the time he is there and this Janet-described Cult leader is making moves on her and influenced Janet to do deep-breathing Hippie exercises, he is... gone again, and not in a way that feels satisfyingly mysterious rather that he had to leave the set.

Janet Planet, in other words, is involving if you get on its wavelength about a young girl who (with a couple of exceptions) keeps the same even-keeled vocal tone and yet is affected by something or many things but holds them inside the shell of an average kid that plays piano and sometimes sits quietly with a wind up music box.

There is a nice poetry to its world view and presentation, while at the same time it never transfixed me or made me feel like I'd seen something so unique that I'd need to think about it for days or weeks (like again Wenders or Reichardt at their most keen). It unfolds closer to a good book than a typical script, which I don't mean as a put down, and if nothing else it's nice to have one of these truly feel written (with captivating and real dialog, especially about sexual preference at one point) rather than so loose and improvised that it loses itself completely.

Janet Planet encourages the viewer to bask in the hazy summer afternoon feel of lounging and allowing observation to be a better tool than explanation. The writing is conversational and also sparse in terms of plotting, where you watch the characters lives unfold like a poem. There are few twists and turns but more contemplation and quiet celebration of independence, motherhood, and adolescence. There was a lot of wisdom in the casual observations, something that added to the realism of dialogue. Conversations you could have with a mother or a friend. Janet Planet has no big climactic moment, in fact I would call the ending it's climax and leaves you pretty clear on what the message was. It is a satisfying film if you are patient with it.

I am pretty baffled by the critical response to this movie, as I usually see pretty eye to eye with them. This thing was so dry and boring that I could hardly believe it. There is hardly any moment that breathed any kind of life or spark, apart from an admittedly sweet and nostalgic JC Penny's sequence - which felt more like it benefitted from just being a trip down memory lane than anything else.

There is hardly any story movement, and what few lines of dialogue can be heard are almost completely useless. Half of them are just the little girl asking basic questions which don't get answered. And lines like "I'm going to kill myself if you don't come pick me up" and "It's funny, every moment of my life is a living hell" are just obnoxious in this day and age.

Now granted, the AC was broken in our theater so that may have also had something to do with our discomfort. But we still walked out of the theater after 40 minutes. The filmmaker is talented I'm sure, but this one just wasn't for me at all.

This isn't a terrible movie, but is lacking in originality. I think that, given time, director Annie Baker will find her own voice instead of trying to be Greta Gerwig. If she works with Zoe Ziegler again, she'll hopefully stop trying to turn her into the new young Saoirse Ronan, too, and let Zoe act in her own way, as I suspect she can.

The basic plot here has been done, in various ways, in many, many far better movies. Baker tried to stuff too much in here, too. The subplot, if you can call it that, about the mother was incomplete and distracted from what the young girl was going through as she was dealing with the changes she was experiencing. Sure, the relation between the mother and daughter was integral to the film, but seemed incomplete, never resolved. It was never really examined in the depth it could have been. That might have been due to the slow pace of the movie. Too little happened over too much time.

The men in the movie were never really fleshed out, either. Most obvious was "Wayne", who was sort of a good guy, but at the same time, not. We never really got to know anything about him, other than he had a nice daughter.

By sheer coincidence I just saw "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." a couple of days before I saw "Janet Planet". One could argue they are wildly different movies, but at the same time, they do cover similar topics. "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." is far better, more entertaining, and more realistic. It's fun. "Janet Planet" is dull in comparison.

But the biggest and most obvious comparison that jumps out at you as you watch "Janet Planet" would be between it and "Lady Bird". They are much more similar films than the one I mentioned above. And "Lady Bird" is much, much better.

As I said, this isn't a terrible film. I look forward to seeing what Baker can do in the future. I'm sure she has a much better film in her.

As an aside, the best song in the movie was "Miracle Man" by Bob Carpenter. Too bad it was associated with the "Wayne" character.

Greetings again from the darkness. Mother-Daughter relationships have been the theme for many fine movies throughout various genres over the years. Some of the best that come to mind include: LADY BIRD (2017), THE FLORIDA PROJECT (2017), MAMMA MIA! (2008), LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (2006), THE JOY LUCK CLUB (1993), TERMS OF ENDEARMENT (1983), MOMMIE DEAREST (1981), CARRIE (1976), and going back many years, the classic MILDRED PIERCE (1945). The common thread here is the complicated, yet unbreakable bond between mother and daughter. Writer-director Annie Baker, who won a 2014 Pulitzer Prize for her play "The Flick", has managed to create a film with a mother-daughter relationship that fits right into the above list, while also bringing a unique perspective.

Eleven-year-old Lacy sneaks out of her summer camp cabin, and through the darkness makes her way to the office payphone. The first line of dialogue we hear is Lacy (Zoe Ziegler) saying, "I'm going to kill myself if you don't come get me." The next morning, mother Janet (Julianne Nicholson) arrives and a packed up Lacy discovers she actually had made a friend, but since it's too late to remain at camp, she questions why mom had to bring boyfriend Wayne (Will Patton) along. "Wayne" is the first chapter of the story, but as we learn, single mom Janet has had a revolving door of lovers and friends. It's 1991, the summer between fifth and sixth grade for Lacy, and as an outcast in her age group, she desperately wants to be close to her mom.

Their rural home is surrounded by nature, and Janet runs her acupuncture business while Lacy hikes to piano lessons ... when she's not asking if she can sleep in mom's bed. Wayne doesn't last long, and Chapter 2 "Regina" bounds in next, thanks to a local art colony performance that allows old friends to reconnect. Regina (Sophie Okonedo) appreciates the free room and has some nice moments with Lacy - except for the shampoo and long stints in the shared bathroom. When Regina moves on, Chapter 3's "Avi" (Elias Koteas) begins getting close to Janet. By now we understand that everyone loves Janet, and that's an emotional hurdle for young Lacy.

The adults are a bit tiresome, and Janet even confesses that she worries about her parenting approach. Yet, those concerns don't impact her free-wheeling ways, and we see she's as lonely and broken as her daughter. Lacy says, "I don't have any friends", and we don't doubt it. As an outsider she's very observant, if not a bit depressed. Julianne Nicholson is exceptional as always, and first-timer Zoe Ziegler is a rare find. We can only hope she finds her way into a Wes Anderson movie before she grows out of this stage. Cinematographer Maria von Hausswolff has a style that perfectly complements director Baker's slow pacing and the unusual setting. As the summer turns to "The Fall", a local square dance provides the perfect ending ... and reinforces all that we've learned about mother and daughter. Another little gem from A24.

In select theaters on June 21, 2024 and nationwide on June 28, 2024.