Janet Planet Review
Janet Planet (2023) Film Review, a movie written and directed by Annie Baker and starring Julianne Nicholson, Zoe Ziegler, Will Patton, Sophie Okonedo, Elias Koteas, Carolyn Walker, Mary Shultz, Abby Harri, June Walker Grossman and Luke Bosco.
Annie Baker’s profound new drama, Janet Planet, is about an awkward time in a young girl’s life where she must come to terms with her individuality, learn who she is becoming and face the fact that her mom is flawed and only human. Julianne Nicholson is one of my favorite actresses and was robbed of Oscar nominations the past two years for Best Supporting Actress for her work in last year’s Dream Scenario and the controversial 2022 film, Blonde. Nicholson gets to chew her teeth on a substantial leading role in Janet Planet but, as the young 11-year old, Lacy, Zoe Ziegler steals the show throughout. Baker’s intelligent script and aesthetic cinematic choices here are all of the highest caliber.
Lacy screams out that she wants to kill herself as the movie starts. Perhaps, she just doesn’t want to be separated from her mother. Her mom, Janet (Nicholson) is, of course, sympathetic to Lacy’s needs. We learn that Janet, an acupuncturist, inherited money that helped her attend school to achieve her chosen career path. Nicholson digs deep inside the character of Janet who seems to have wanted men to love her even though it wasn’t the best for her well-being. Lacy is attached to Janet’s hip but that’s because Janet is a good mom. Although Janet struggles with personal issues, there are so many layers to the character that Nicholson brings to the table. Nicholson’s performance is multi-faceted and her relationship with a creative man named Wayne (the always reliable Will Patton) is believably brought into view as the story line unfolds.
Janet Planet is full of wonderful characters and scenes. The best sequence in the film comes when Lacy tells her mom that she may not want to be with men as she gets older and Lacy wonders how Janet would react if Lacy turned out to be gay. Nicholson walks on a tightrope in this scene very carefully through her characterization. Janet needs to know the right thing to say to the sensitive (to say the least) Lacy. Nicholson knocks it out of the park as she explains why she thinks what she does regarding Lacy’s personality, etc. It’s a beautifully constructed scene and both actresses handle it oh so delicately.
There are tender moments here but ones that aren’t so beautiful to behold such as when Janet finds something in Lacy’s hair. A tick, to be precise. Watching these two try to kill the tick and flush it down the toilet is strangely intriguing. Lacy is full of anxiety and the film captures her confusion to a tee. Lacy wonders why she doesn’t have friends and thinks it’s a great mystery in a hilarious moment within the film. Lacy doesn’t have friends, though, because she clings on to her mom and is intelligent way beyond her years.
Another remarkable performance is that of Sophie Okonedo as Regina, a woman who Janet takes in. Lacy and Regina get to talking. Lacy wonders whether people fall in love with Regina like they do with Janet and Regina, in turn, verbalizes to Lacy (through examples) the complexities of everyday life. One scene has Regina accusing Lacy of using her shampoo. It’s an interesting moment that sheds light on Regina’s financial difficulties and her own tremendous anxiety as well.
Finally, Elias Koteas is wonderful in his turn as Avi, a man who Janet connects with. Avi talks about the big-bang theory in great depth as Avi says that everything that created the world probably just happened one day because, possibly, God (or whoever created the world) was tired of being bored. Koteas is one of our most under-appreciated character actors and his poetic role here is well-drawn even though the film suggests there may be more to him than meets the eye. Koteas has been working as an actor through five decades and is a true genius in the art of character acting.
When Janet gets antibiotics for Lacy to help her get over a possible infection and get back to school, we see Janet’s love for Lacy as a mom. But, Janet also wants to live her own life as well which is demonstrated by the film’s moving conclusion where Janet attends a dance to try to meet new people while Lacy looks on in the background. It’s a very deep ending to a movie that is full of thought-provoking complexities.
Janet Planet has a minor flaw or two. When Lacy tells the piano teacher (Mary Shultz) she hasn’t been practicing even though the instructor thinks she has been, it feels like Lacy is a bit full of herself. This manifests itself in a few scenes. Lacy is not supposed to be perfect considering what she’s going through growing up but, sometimes, Lacy could have been a bit more relatable. This hardly lessens the whopping impact of Ziegler’s Oscar-nomination worthy performance.
If you want to see a movie that’s unpredictable with the amazing Julianne Nicholson in fine form, then Janet Planet will fit the bill for a deep, satisfying drama. It’s thoughtful how well Baker presents the film’s characters and paints pictures of the decade the movie is set in. Baker has a character hang up the cover of a dated issue of The New Yorker magazine from 1991. Ably painting the small-town feel of the film, Baker’s movie slowly gets under the viewer’s skin and will ultimately floor you. Ziegler and Nicholson are two masters of the acting game and Janet Planet is a must-see.
Rating: 9/10
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