Janet Planet Movie Review (2023)
A subtle coming-of-age story about an off-beat girl and her mother, Janet Planet captures those developmental moments when we first see our parents as real people.
I am a child of the 80s and very early 90s. I remember the world very clearly when there were no computers or cell phones. When time floated along and you brought travel games into the car for road trips or just looked out the window for hours. It was simple in so many ways that today’s kids won’t get to see.
Janet Planet is about 11 year old Lacy who lives with her single mom, Janet. It is the summer of 1991, and, when Lacy calls home from sleep-away-camp saying that she’s going to kill herself if her mother doesn’t pick her up, Janet arrives the next day. The rest of the story flows through three different people who enter their lives until we reach the beginning of the school year.
The entire essence of this drama reminded me of the quietness before computers. Things are peaceful and you hear the bugs buzzing and birds chirping around their Massachusetts home. Lacy passes her time staring out windows, practicing piano between lessons, and staying on the sidelines. She is odd and she knows it. She pushes the limits to see what she can get away with. She knows that her mom will ultimately do what she wants – they are very close.
Janet, who has made some questionable life choices, although you do not learn about most of them, has poor taste in men and Lacy is aware. Janet is an acupuncturist (which was a bit of an oddity in 1991), she is unhappy, and she talks to her daughter as if Lacy is an adult.
The movie is told in chapters, with each of the three people who swing through their lives getting their own. The cinematography is incredibly interesting, ranging from really wide shots to others where the camera isn’t centered and faces are cut off. It added so much to the eccentricity of the film tone, I really enjoyed it.
As you watch Lacy quietly ponder her own life, or maybe nothing at all, you can see that she is slowly taking in the facts of who her mother is. You see it in her eyes, and ultimately in a bit of conversation, but as a viewer, you wonder how long she has been piecing it together. It made me wonder how long it took me to realize the humanness of my own parents from beginning to end. I’m not really sure, but it’s an interesting question.
Janet Planet is a quiet film with a lot of little curiosities thrown in. The actors are great and even though this was made in 2023, there is a graininess to the film that makes you feel like it’s closer to the 70s. There are a lot of quirky notes here that add up to a film that leaves you thoughtful. Worth watching.
Runtime: 112 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: PG-13
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Yes
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 3/5 Stars
Available: Free on Max, to rent on Prime Video, or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
