Janet Planet

There's a difference between minimalist and vacuous, and writer-director Annie Baker doesn't seem to know the difference. The playwright's debut feature, to put it simply, is boring, pretentious, meandering, unfocused and a big, fat waste of time. It's so dull, in fact, that the film makes the works of Kelly Reichardt appear utterly fascinating. Set in 1991 in the hippie-dominated arts community of rural western Massachusetts, the film follows the story (if one could even call it that) of middle-aged acupuncturist Janet (Julianne Nicholson) as she struggles to sort out what appears to have been a wayward, meandering life. And, as this tale plays out, it faithfully sticks to that course, too, an influence that's clearly wearing off on Janet's equally clueless, incessantly brooding, 8-year-old daughter, Lacy (newcomer Zoe Ziegler). Along the way, the duo experiences an array of cryptic, inconsequential involvements with others who are apparently fascinated with Janet (though goodness knows why), all of whom (Will Patton, Sophie Okonedo, Elias Koteas) are just as lost and boring as Janet is. So what's the point in all this? Who knows - and, not long into the picture, who cares? The raves that have been showered on this tedious, tiresome piece of filmmaking are a complete mystery to me, given its prevailing mundane nature and monotone performances by players who all sound like they've been shot up with sodium pentothal. Nicholson, in particular, comes across as so disengaged that she probably could have just as easily phoned in this performance (despite claims that this is the breakthrough role that she's supposedly been waiting for - please, watch her in "August: Osage County" (2013) instead). What's more, this picture probably has some of the worst sound quality I've ever seen in a contemporary production - so bad that I had to struggle to be able to hear what was being said (and I was sitting in the theater's second row). And the film's feeble attempts at trying to incorporate some kind of subtle, nuanced metaphysical undercurrent fail miserably as well, treated almost as if their inclusion was an afterthought. If you dare to consider giving this one a look, make sure you don't watch it when you're tired - you just might fall asleep soon after the opening credits roll, an understandable reaction, to be sure.

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 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.

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.

I have really enjoyed Annie Baker's plays & was looking forward to seeing her feature film debut with JANET PLANET. And while I always admire Julianne Nicholson's work (she is incredible in everything from I, TONYA to MARE OF EASTTOWN) this film & Baker's script just moves along with no structure or no drive. I have no problem with films that take their time, or move slowly as long as there is some kind of emotional or cerebral pay off but sadly, I did not think this film had one. There are small nice, very real moments between some of the characters and I liked Sophie Okenedo's scenes but overall the story is not compelling and yes, the character's keep others at arms length but the viewer wishes they could get a bit closer to the characters and their thoughts and emotions. Overall, a rather lackluster summer coming of "age" from a very talented playwright.