Starring: Ellen Page, Jennifer Garner, J.K Simmons, Alison Janney.
Directed by: Jason Reitman
Review Written By: Joey D
Independent movies are definitely giving Hollywood a run for it’s superficial money in the last few years. With cinematic gems such as Napoleon Dynamite, Little Miss Sunshine and Brick drawing in audiences and critics faster than a jet-plane Transformer, the likes of James Cameron and Michael Bay must be sweating in their four digit price tagged suits. The newest installment that has been bestowed upon the general public – and to great reception – is Juno.
Juno (Ellen Page – Hard Candy) is a smart-mouthed, misfit 16 year-old high school student who falls pregnant after a night of rebellious deflowering with best friend Bleeker (Michael Cera – Superbad). Her initial reaction is to get an abortion but teenage nerves get the better of her and she decides to put the unborn baby up for adoption. She attracts the attention of Vanessa (Jennifer Garner – Daredevil, 13 Going On 30) and Mark Loring (Jason Bateman – The Kingdom, Smoking Aces), a rich couple from the suburbs that are desperate for a child. With the aid of her father (J.K Simmons – Spiderman) and stepmother (Alison Janney – Hairspray), Juno must face difficult decisions for the welfare of her, the hopeful parents and of course, the child-to-be.
The cast of this beautifully crafted film are the bread and butter of Juno’s charm, with the main focus on relative newcomer Ellen Page. As Joseph Gordon Levitt did in Brick, Page shows her audience that despite her only mainstream achievement being X Men: The Last Stand, she doesn’t rely on Hollywood to define her career and is more comfortable in Indie flicks. Even without a sense of style or dignity, the foul mouthed girl of the MTV generation is still an unbelievably attractive and likeable character. This feat isn’t just an example of exceptional writing, Page makes this flawed character a realistic and beautiful specimen of human existence.
Not all of the credit should be forced on Ellen Page as the rest of the cast are just as responsible for this delightful coming-of-age story. J.K Simmons and Alison Janney are perfect as the concerned yet supportive parents, Michael Cera’s quiet and particularly nerdy Bleeker is ideal for making the audience feel completely socially awkward but another respectable mention has to be given to the ever-radiant Jennifer Garner. Garner has built a reputation on her sickly sweet personality and her heart-melting smile and it is put to perfect use in Juno as the desperate mother wannabe. Her believable performance gives it’s viewer an insight into the problems faced when adopting a child and the pressures that a relationship can face when given a life changing opportunity such as the one offered to her by Juno.
Nominated for four Oscars including the prestigious ‘Best Picture’ award, Juno deserves everything it has coming to it. The writing is sharp while still maintaining reality, the score is chocked full of indie brand mellow rock and the direction of Jason Reitman is perfect in maintaining an art-house feel to a cheesy soap opera-regular storyline. If the unexpected success of Little Miss Sunshine is anything to go by, Juno will prove once again that when making an Oscar-worthy piece of celluloid; you don’t need a massive budget and seizure-inducing CGI to be a success, you simply need a camera, a naturally gifted cast and of course…a big heart!MOVIE MAESTRO RATING:
No comments:
Post a Comment