Janet Planet (2024)

Direction: Annie Baker
Country: USA

The feature debut of filmmaker Annie Baker, Janet Planet, is an absorbing drama that deserves your attention. Set in rural Massachusetts in 1991, the film poignantly captures the emotional complexities and uncertainty of a volatile single mother (Julianne Nicholson), who works as an acupuncturist, and her lonely, highly dependent 11-year-old daughter (Zoe Ziegler). Their lives are momentarily altered by the arrival of three different people, leading to a story that is both patiently observant and ultimately caustic. The film provides an unnervingly naturalistic look at a teen's life, anchored by convincing central performances, with the potent chemistry between the mother and daughter being crucial to the film’s success.

Janet Planet earns its dramatic moments through strong writing, unexpected outcomes, and a nice restraint. The film effectively contrasts the maturity found in some of the conversations between mother and daughter with the imbalance of some of the mother’s choices. Despite being presented in an unhurried, episodic manner, the nearly two-hour runtime never feels sluggish. The screenplay's subtlety and quality stand out, maintaining a steady yet delightfully quirky tone throughout. 

It’s safe to say that Baker has a promising career as a filmmaker and storyteller ahead of her, as all the elements are assembled with prudent sincerity, building a story that is both touching and deeply affecting. Janet Planet is a rare gem, so earnest in its approach that it resonates with a poignant, almost painful, honesty.

Who We Are Now (2018)

Directed by Matthew Newton
Country: USA

In Matthew Newton’s drama film, “Who We Are Now”, we learn about the dismal circumstances in the life of Beth (Julianne Nicholson – “I Tonya”), who struggles with social reintegration after ten years spent in jail. Although rehabilitated from drug addiction, the weight of a tumultuous past marked by manslaughter impedes her to get the custody of her son. The legal battle is against her own sister, Gabby (Jess Weixler) and her husband, who became the legal guardians of the child. The latter doesn’t even know that ‘aunt’ Beth, a complete stranger to him, is, in fact, his biological mother.

A dedicated public defender, Carl (Jimmy Smits), is sensitive to her cause, but can’t do much to help, especially after Gabby's legal action to prevent her from having any contact with her son. Too many unannounced visits and a public scene were motives for the decision. However, Carl’s ambitious protégé, junior litigator Jess (Emma Roberts), undertakes Beth’s litigation on her own. There is more than one reason to explain this rare act. One has to do with the sudden frustration that escalated in Jess after a juvenile inmate has committed suicide. Also, to avoid the daily torment of dealing with and listening to her manipulative, arrogant mother (Lea Thompson). Hence, on one hand, we have a mother anxiously waiting to get her son back, and on the other, we have a daughter underestimated by her mother.

Beth is working in a nail salon, which doesn't provide her enough income to live properly. So, there wasn't a hesitation when she offered sexual favors to get a decent job. It didn’t work though. The only thing that seems favorable in her life is a new romance with Pete (Zachary Quinto), a lonely soldier who went to Afghanistan for several missions and now suffers from PTSD.

There is nothing fanciful or odd in Newton’s story. The self-acceptance and courage of the two main characters make them admirable women. True fighters with opposite personalities and particular family backgrounds are united by an inexplicable bond that gets stronger as they open up more about their lives. If Roberts does an acceptable job by giving shape to a more rigid, conventional character, then Nicholson is fabulous as she transpires veracity in every scene she appears.

Although monochromatic in mood and driven by a neat filmmaking style, the film has Newton crafting terrific moments as well as a surprising finale centered in a tremendously unselfish act of love that will make you think for a long moment.