TELLURIDE – Since screening Annie Baker’s “Janet Planet,” which had its world premiere at the 2023 Telluride Film Festival on Friday, we’ve been wracking our brains with an unexpected query. When was the last time someone who has so mastered the stage – Baker is a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, mind you – crafted a directorial feature debut of such artistic confidence? A film that feels a million miles from the confines of a sterile theatrical setting. A movie that is creatively propelled more by a filmmaker’s eye than the words composed by a screenwriter.  And apologizes for the hyperbole in advance, an experience that feels like the arrival of a new cinematic auteur. A name or two eventually popped into our brain, but we’re not prepared to throw Baker in that esteemed circle. Not yet anyway.
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At first, “Janet Planet” does not seem that remarkable a tale. Set in the summer of 1991, Lacy (Zoe Ziegler, impressive) is an 11-year-old who is seemingly out of place. After convincing her mother to rescue her from sleepaway camp (a mild suicide threat does the trick) she returns to their home in the rural woods of Western Massachusetts. The Janet in the “Planet” is Lacy’s mother (Julianne Nicholson, sensational, as always) a single mom who has remade her life to support her daughter and the title of the film is the name of her acupuncture business. For the most part, the film depicts their life through Lacy’s eyes.
Broken into three chapters, the first centers on Wayne (Will Patton, quite good), Janet’s current live-in boyfriend. A Vietnam veteran who is considerably older than Lacy’s mom, Wayne is an incredibly quiet man who often ignores Lacy’s questions about his life or, more specifically, his past. Lacy doesn’t have many friends her own age but early on enjoys an almost euphoric afternoon with Wayne’s daughter who is around her same age. But that is one rare day of joy where Wayne is concerned. Genuinely troubled, his psychological issues cast a shadow of fear over Janet and Lacy’s seemingly idyllic bubble. He doesn’t last, but Baker makes it clear he won’t from the moment he appears on screen.
The second chapter signifies the arrival of Regina (Sophie Okonedo, a light), an old friend of Janet’s attempting to restart her life. Regina has spent too many years in the confines of a local theater group she casually refers to as a “cult.” After an unexpected reunion, Janet comes to her rescue by letting her rent a room. Regina promises Lacy grand adventures and, for the most part, delivers. But like almost everyone in Lacy’s purview, she has existential problems a young girl won’t truly comprehend. Five years of unemployment find her reduced to working at an ice cream stand. A rougher return to reality then she expected. And when Janet’s underlying resentment of her presence in their home bubbles to the surface, she feels more alone than ever.
The final section, the shortest, finds Janet dating Avi (Elias Koteas), Regina’s ex-lover and the leader of the aforementioned theater group. He spouts a good amount of new-age mumbo jumbo of the era, but Janet clearly enjoys the attention. Maybe she’s even curious about what Regina saw in him. He’s absolutely smitten and she’s willing to indulge him until she isn’t. And it’s Lacy’s last lesson that her mother isn’t the person she’s idolized as a child. Few parents are.
It’s unclear if this is at all biographical for Baker, but “Janet Planet” chronicles that moment in a child’s life when the golden sheen of a parent begins to fade. For some families it comes with the anger or conflict of teenage rebellion, but others it’s a more gradual realization. Even if it happens to take place over a single summer.
Baker’s collaboration with her cinematographer Maria von Hausswolf (“Godland”) is exquisite. Whether it’s a close up of a dangling earring or Janet getting swept up in line dancing, the perspective is always intentional. And, most importantly, the pair conjure an aesthetic that is grounded in nature and touched with only a hint of childhood wonder. This film may be through Lacy’s eyes, but it’s Janet’s, Regina and Wayne’s story too. Their perspectives are never lost. In another filmmaker’s hands, that could easily not be the case.
The tone is clearly also influenced by editor Lucian Johnston in its pacing. There is a slight whiff of familiarity in that regard with many of the other A24 films he’s worked on. But it’s faint. Perhaps it’s just this era of pseudo-independent cinema. Or, perhaps Baker’s vision deserves the benefit of the doubt. We’re happy to assume the latter. [A-]
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