'Janet Planet' Beautifully Portrays Longing
Not bad for a feature debut. Writer/Director Annie Baker's Janet Planet is a methodical exercise of the complications of both childhood and adulthood. It's slow cinema that works. Watching this film, I couldn't help but think of Raven Jackson's All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt. The similarities between the films are outweighed by their differences. All Dirt Roads focused so much on the silent moments in its narrative that it lost its avant-garde quality, whereas Janet Planet knows how to play the slow game without it distracting from the film's plot. Looking back on All Dirt Roads, all I can think about is how it was too reliant on metaphorical close-ups of people's hands over what the film actually meant. It's a critically acclaimed flick whose pretentiousness had my eyes rolling while most of the crowd was in awe.
Janet Planet is similar to All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt where it's a film that feels like a collection of memories, more than a traditional narrative. Both movies don't have a score, and both move at a snail's pace. That's not to say slow cinema is bad. It works beautifully when it's executed properly. Where All Dirt Roads is a mixed bag of auteurism, Janet Planet resonates with its humor and honesty. Looking at it from a simplistic view, Janet Planet is about childhood. Yet it's so much more than that. The movie is really about adults who have trouble adjusting to their lives. Every grown-up in this film is lost. They're scratching through life, barely able to survive on their own. They're adults who didn't learn how to grow up, all while trying to act like positive role models to a little girl.
Janet (Julianne Nicholson) is a complicated woman who is having difficulty handling relationships, all while trying to care for her child, Lacy (Zoe Ziegler). Janet's main flaw is that she has terrible taste in men. This is highlighted by the film's structure, which breaks down its acts by the names of characters displayed on large title cards. For instance, at the beginning of the film, Janet dates Wayne (Will Patton). When we meet Warne a large title card appears on the screen displaying his name. When Wayne and Janet separate, another title card pops up with the humorous text "End Wayne." And thank God Wayne did end, for Wayne is a short-spoken, neglectful jerk. Why Janet would fall for him is a telling sign that she doesn't know what she's doing when it comes to men. Most mothers wouldn't discuss their relationship problems with their young daughters. But Janet and Lacy have a special connection.
In one of the film's most poignant scenes, Janet confesses to Lacy that she always knew she wasn't very attractive. But if she tried hard enough, she could get any man to fall in love with her, although its ruined her life. In desperation, she asks Lacy what she should do which Lacy replies, "stop trying." Janet's confession is an admittance of guilt. Janet knows she's made mistakes and will probably keep making them. She's a woman in a downward spiral of repetitious behavior that can be almost impossible to break away from.
It's an incredibly honest human flaw that can connect with any of us. How do you stop your actions when you're a person who can't stop making bad decisions? I've been there. It's like you want to do the right thing, but some invisible force in your mind is preventing you from doing it. It's endless torture. Janet may be foolish in her taste for men, but she's examined with such delicacy our hearts break for her instead of judging her.
At the film's center focal point is Lacy. Through Lacy's point of view, we see the story of a girl learning how to navigate childhood, all while being set in a surrounding that isn't ideal for a child. Janet keeps bringing strange men into her home to stay there as guests. Lacy hardly ever sees other children as she has trouble making friends with them. She's mostly surrounded by adults who are poor role models but good people. For example, one of the most saddening characters is Regina (Sophie Okonedo). From the outside, Regina is a talented performer, but her personal life is a mess. She doesn't know where to live or what to do. So Regina crashes at Janet's place. To make money, she serves ice cream to people. Regina represents the struggling commoner. Lost, desperate, and depressed. Regina puts on a happy face, but her hope for a positive future seems nonexistent with the current path she's taking. Regina, like many of the characters are incredibly relatable, flawed people.
Annie Baker's stunning debut is a thorough, empathetic examination of the flaws we have. She weaves through the memories of a little girl's past with a tender approach. The film feels like something you'd see in another era thanks to its 16mm film negative, giving it a natural graininess that brings you into 1991 seamlessly. It's a slow burn with an authentic soul that isn't your typical mother-daughter relationship film. In the movie the mom has some growing up to do while the kid is navigating an unconventional childhood with incredible maturity. Lacy hardly raises her voice or complains. She's a soft-spoken girl who's locked in her mother's unusual orbit. Janet certainly exists on her own planet. But she's there for her daughter.
Janet Planet presents a profound sincereness that doesn't get lost in pretension or convention. It's an auteur's film that is deeply relatable to any struggling parent or child who's battling depression. Lacy represents every kid who's lost in life. She wants a normal family but doesn't have one, thanks to her mom's self-destructive behavior. Despite the film's gloom, it has the humor to keep it from sinking in depression sea. It's a mix of lightheartedness and melancholy that shouldn't be missed.
