Great shot in Janet Planet, one of my favorite films this year, directed by Annie Baker – her first film as a director. She’s a famous playwright. In 2015 I went to go see her three-hour play The Flick, when it was still at the Barrow Street Theatre, not at all a fancy venue. I saw it with the original cast. It is an experience I will never ever EVER forget. The “flick” referred to is a movie (the whole play takes place in a movie theatre). I’m super impressed with her already and now comes THIS.
This photo and Jourdain Searles review in Ebert got me to watch Janet Planet. From a framing point of view, it made me think of Pawlikowski’s Ida, with Janet and Lacy often being at the bottom of the screen. With Ida, I could understand that she was small compared to Catholicism, Communism, the Iron Curtain, and the ugly history of Poland and Jews. I don’t think Janet and Lacy were small against anything, so I’m not sure of the thematic choice here. Perhaps wanting to do a compare/contrast is inapt.
I thought the effect was beautiful, though. It made me want to lean in closer to see what was going on with the faces. What were the expressions as they were speaking? The framing made it harder to read, harder to know what Janet and Lacy were thinking. So that drew me in more. I think this would be a bold choice for anyone, and an especially surprising one for a playwright.
I wonder if having only part of your face is freeing for the actor, or if it makes things more difficult? Do just the forehead and the eyes need to do all the work? Or just the mouth and chin, depending on the framing? Or is the trust all placed on the audience?
Do you know what happened with Avi?
So glad you saw it!!
Yes, sometimes comparisons lead you down a path to nowhere – or it’s not a 1 to 1 comparison. I feel like in Ida those empty spaces were about faith – or the lack thereof – a sense that there’s NOTHING up above- just space – but it was heavy space, the crushing weight of emptiness hovering above everyone in that film. I reviewed a fantastic film called The Swerve some years ago – and he used a similar framing if I recall correctly – which I think had to do with the emotional dislocation of the central character. Even in her own house she is shoved over to the bottom corner of the frame.
Visual language is flexible! It all depends on the eye, and how that particular eye sees.
I liked how Janet Planet was clearly through the eyes of the child (I loved when she was under the table talking to her mother’s feet) – but then a couple times it was the mom. we aren’t ever really in the mother’s POV – the closeups (for me) were like the daughter’s anxious voyeurism, her obsession with her mother. We are always seeing the mother through the daughter’s eyes – except for that one scene with Avi – which I think is why the whole thing was so unsettling. In general, I found Avi unsettling – but Elias Koteas is one of my faves – such a great character actor – he has THE scene in Zodiac, and THE closeup in Zodiac as far as I’m concerned – I think I wrote about it here somewhere.
I wasn’t sure it was Koteas at first because of the beard and how different he looked! so good! And I LOVED Regina.
and about “do your eyes and forehead have to do all the work” – I think yeah it’s a different challenge acting-wise and it’s funny you say that because when I watched the scene where the kid is under the table talking to her mom’s legs – and we only see the mom’s legs – I remember thinking, “Damn, Julianne Nicholson has to act this entire thing with her legs.” And she DOES.
I haven’t decided if the Avi picnic was in her head. I don’t know, an imaginary picnic feels like something from a different movie. But that whole sequence definitely stood out – mainly because the kid wasn’t there!
My review of The Swerve! That movie shoulda been way more talked about, I think!!
// “Damn, Julianne Nicholson has to act this entire thing with her legs.”//. That’s great!
I’m picturing her knees talking to each other, “what’s our motivation in this scene?” “We should have gone to the special ‘acting with only your limbs’ seminar at the Actor’s Studio.”
//I haven’t decided if the Avi picnic was in her head.//
I wondered if Lacy wished Avi into the cornfield. But, as you say, something from a different movie.
I just read your The Swerve review. I want to track that down. I really like Azura Skye.
This reminded me, I saw Cuckoo a couple weeks back. Not a particularly good movie, but I was captivated by Hunter Schafer. She has that energy that draws you me in and makes me want to understand what she is thinking, feeling, planning.
Zoe Ziegler also has that. She’s all of 12 now? Holy cow.
Nicholson did some excellent ankle/toe work. Because you hear her voice from above and she’s asking if it’s okay if Avi comes over for lunch or something – I think that’s what she asked. So … she’s hesitant and she knows she’s starting up her whole pattern with men again.
like, AVI? meanwhile: he was in a relationship with your friend for years. so … for real?
You can see all of that in her legs and toes!