Juno

Over the past few years, an entire sub-genre of cinema has sprouted up, referred to as "indie films".  They are identified not by their independence from major distributors, but by their low-key drama, young and quirky protagonists, and soundtracks showcasing unknown acoustic artists, often the stars themselves.  At the genesis of this movement in 2007 was Juno.



It stars Ellen Page in her breakout role as the eponymous protagonist, a high schooler who was knocked up by boyfriend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera).  She decides to keep the child and give it to a pair of seemingly ideal adoptive parents (Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman).  Meanwhile, quirky acoustic music plays in the background, and Juno and her friends employ a lot of bizarre slang that is already aging poorly, and fortunately never caught on.  Hence, Juno quickly gained its reputation as "that popular movie about teenage pregnancy with quirky humor", something that was viewed as kind of revolutionary at the time.

After seven years, Juno's freshness has faded and it can be judged on its own timeless merits and faults.  It is certainly not without fault.  The opening scene plays out clumsily, giving the film a shaky foundation - we see Juno standing on her lawn, observing a chair, with voiceover "It started with a chair".  Cut to flashback of Juno preparing to copulate with Bleeker, and unwittingly conceive a human life.  This established, she inexplicably adds, in voiceover, her admiration for the living room set.  Then the opening credits commence, set to the first of many mumblecore love songs.  These shaky first couple minutes give us an idea of what the rest of the entire film will be like - genuinely compelling human drama interspersed with awkward humor.  As the film gradually comes to emphasize the former, in typical dramedy fashion, it finds its legs.

The film's humor is not one hundred percent terrible, but notably it seems like the funniest moments are the halted deliveries in Page's exchanges with her parents, her child's prospective parents, and Bleeker.  Diablo Cody's script itself delivers few genuine laughs, and a lot of lines like "honest to blog".  And when the film dispenses with its cuteness, it has some fascinating character study to provide.  Juno, feeling adrift and alienated at high school, gravitates closer and closer to Mark, the adoptive father, who is creepily receptive.  What does Juno want out of this budding relationship?  What does Mark want?  Neither seems absolutely certain - the only definitive truth is that a tryst between the two is a terrible idea.

The film's action could accurately be classified as episodic, divided into three definitive acts with themes and tones linked to their respective seasons - "Fall" establishes our characters and their worries about the future, "Winter" brings conflicts to a head and pushes the characters to their low point, and "Spring", naturally, has a motif of birth/rebirth - Juno gives actual birth to the baby, Vanessa starts a new life as a single parent, Mark throws it all away and heads off to unknown midlife crises, Juno and Bleeker begin their relationship anew, doing so "backwards", as Juno describes it.  Of course, the action could also accurately be described as rising.  Though the +-nine months of the film's story are divided by seasons, the action itself is fairly straightforward, featuring the same characters and the same fundamental conflicts throughout, all driven by Juno's pregnancy.

2.5/4 stars


Works Cited

Juno. Dir. Jason Reitman. Prod. Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith, and Mason Novick. By Diablo Cody. Perf. Ellen Page and Michael Cera. Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2007.

Barsam, Richard Meran., and Dave Monahan. Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2010. Print.