Director: Annie Baker
Stars: Julianne Nicholson, Zoe Ziegler, Sophie Okonedo
The latest A24 indie to receive just the most absolute garbage UK distribution is Annie Baker’s quietly affecting comedy drama Janet Planet (a BBC Films co-production, no less!), a Massachusetts-set coming-of-ager that centres imaginative 11-year-old Lacy (a breakout Zoe Ziegler). Captured in what feels like the glimmer of a perpetual sunset ensconced in birdsong, this rural cutie is the kind of US independent that might’ve swept the noughties DVD boom by storm, drawn from a carefully hewn screenplay designed to make us ache with recognition.
The film details the appearance and influence of three people in Lacy’s life over the course of a hot summer, all drawn into the orbit of her mother, acupuncturist Janet (Julianne Nicholson). First there is Wayne (Will Patton), a fellow single-parent who veers from Janet’s boyfriend to patient while suffering migraines. An outburst colours both of their opinions of him, and knits the mother-daughter bond of the film firmly into place.
Next up Regina (Sophie Okonedo) – a former not-quite-cult member – who comes into their lives and challenges some of Janet’s habits and behaviours. Her approach to talking to Lacy is markedly different to Wayne’s, underscoring the former’s erratic temperament.
Regina is usurped, wryly, by her pompous mentor Avi (the great Elias Koteas). His big-talking, somewhat condescending rhetoric only lightly masks his similarity to Wayne – a further example of Janet’s canny ability to attract problematic men (a cycle she’s all-too aware of thanks to Regina) In truth, Avi feels anticlimactic, and some viewers may find Janet Planet frustratingly drama-averse. But a-typical isn’t bad. We should be heartened by the a-typical.
When Baker rests on the chirping of cicadas and moments of stillness, she conjures a humid atmosphere akin to Apichatpong Weerasethakul circa the hazy nights of Uncle Boonmee. Baker also shows a good sense of rhythm, alternating energetic scenes with static ones. When thinking of the former, she displays an affinity for documenting childhood play that one might associate with another Baker; Sean of The Florida Project – a simile conjured in a few short sequences of Lacy enjoying playdates with Wayne’s daughter Sequoia (Edie Moon Kearns). Baker’s investigations throughout re framing conveys an infectious sense of curiosity. You can feel her trying things out, exploring through the making of her film. It’s not experimental per se, but it does feel like a piece about growing in which the artist is growing too, and making that journey visible in the work.
The new age aspects of Janet’s work and interests is presently fairly, without undue mockery, something that might have very easily made this a far more cynical picture. Instead the very lack of judgement feeds nicely into Janet Planet‘s overarching ethos of acceptance. For all the introverted inclinations of its mother-daughter duo, there’s a buoyant sense of enjoying and embracing new experiences that is shared between them, a feeling that especially comes to the fore during an inspired communal funeral service that introduces us to Avi. Lacy’s life is adjacent to a lot of creativity. In that respect she seems very blessed.
“What are we even talking about when we talk about mothers?” Regina asks at one point, possibly the closest the film comes to presenting parody. But it also cuts to the heart of some of Baker’s enquiries here. Nicholson shines as her knotty, thorny, imperfect screen matriarch. Articulate, busy-minded, self-doubting. Janet’s a multi-dimensional creation and clear collaboration between actor and filmmaker. Baker’s honing in on specifics here. It’s a character piece. Nicholson is it’s centre, but she’s flanked on all sides by star players. The hushed nighttime confessionals between Janet and her daughter are the grace notes, and young Ziegler balances these perfectly. It’s quite an achievement for someone so young.
The themes, focus and tone of Janet Planet may feel over-familiar – yet another cutesy, observational dramedy from the festival circuit? sigh, ok – and yet if approached with the same lack of cynicism it evidences, Baker’s film feels like a little deadpan treasure, one that presents the greatest junior find since Bo Burnham delivered us Elsie Fisher as Kayla in Eighth Grade.
Fortunately, thankfully, Baker evidences her own voice emerging strongly with Janet Planet.
The Lost Highway Hotel 