Juno

I feel like you don’t have to love a movie to deem it great, but when you do, it becomes that much more impactive. Last week I saw Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, an remarkable, dark family drama that in the end leaves you cold. There’s a distance between you and the characters, both for your own sanity, and because the story never really lets you know these people.

Tonight though, tonight I saw a movie I loved. I loved it before I saw it, based only on the snippets of story I had seen and read about, and especially because of the people involved. By the time the brilliant title sequence began, with its elegantly unassuming animation by Shadowplay Studio and perfect soundtrack, these names which I came to see popping up here and there on screen, it confirmed my hopes. In that moment, I knew when it was all over I would be happy. It is a testament, then, to Juno, that it was even better than I thought it would be.

I very much enjoyed Jason Reitman’s previous picture, Thank You For Smoking, though I think I praised the opening sequence of that film more than I did the movie itself. That film had a zippy, whiz-bang spirit that was infectious and perfect for its story, but here Reitman wisely lets everything settle in a little deeper. The characters are much more than those in the heightened reality of Smoking. These are people you know, who think and act and talk the way you do. Diablo Cody has already been heralded as a breakthrough talent for her marvelous script. While it remains to be seen if she can pull the rabbit out of a hat (anyone remember the heady days of Academy Award winning screenwriters Matt Damon & Ben Affleck?) a second time, Juno is instant magic.

Critics far and wide have declared Cody’s dialogue, particularly in early scenes with the feisty, titular Juno (Ellen Page) and her friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby) cutesy, affected and so on, but I never once had a problem with it. In fact, I kind of talk like that too, and so do a lot of people I know. And that’s the thing about the characters in the movie: while I never have known a pregnant teen, never met an awkward rich couple like Vanessa (Jennifer Garner’s best role since Alias’ Sidney Bristow) and Mark (a wonderfully downtrodden Jason Bateman), they all feel like people I could meet.

This is not to say realism is a necessary prerequisite for a good movie. I love science fiction (Star Wars), loony comedies (Wet Hot American Summer), fantasy (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and so on as much as the next guy. And yet the stories and characters I truly hold dear (for example, the tv series Freaks and Geeks) are rooted in realism. These characters, these people, make mistakes, make judgements… but in the end they are all trying to move toward good. They strive to find love and compassion in relationships.

I’m descending into sap for a movie that was anything but sappy, so I’ll refrain from any further life-affirming mumbo jumbo. I will go on to say however that besides the assured direction and standout script, the performances in this gem of a film are excellent from top to bottom. J.K. Simmons and Alison Janney, as Juno’s parents, radiate love even in the face of their scorn. The aforementioned Garner & Bateman make it clear from the start that their perfect little life isn’t quite so — and you know from their performances as much as you do from the script that it’s only a matter of time before it all falls apart.

The inimitable Michael Cera continues his string of incredible, nuanced performances, and here he displays a newfound confidence not previously seen in Arrested Development and Superbad. Sure, he’s awkward, but who isn’t at sixteen? What sets Juno’s Paulie apart from Evan and George Michael is his heart. He looks at Juno not as some girl he lost his virginity to, but as someone he truly connects with. There is no irony in him.

Juno of course, is full of irony. Her witticisms roll off her tongue with the ease of a seasoned stand-up, and yet they never seem forced or out of character. The character of Juno is more than these one-liners, and that is because of the stunning work by Ellen Page. It should come as no surprise to anyone that’s seen Hard Candy, a startling film in which she again played a girl 4 years her junior (Page is a mere 20) in a little bit over her head. Though Candy twisted her character into something more diabolical, in both movies Page’s character — and the actress herself — has taken matters into her own hands and shown a maturity beyond her years. Far and wide, critics and audiences alike will hail Page as a breakout star. For me, though, Juno only solidifies her place as one of the next great actresses.

I can only hope Diablo Cody can follow in Page’s footsteps and recreate the magic of Juno with her next project. A near-perfect movie, I loved it from start to finish. When I walked out of the theater, I wanted to buy it, I wanted to listen to the soundtrack, I wanted to see it again. If a great movie is one you can admire, the hallmark of a true gem, then, is one that I can fall in love with. Juno is that movie, and it is easily my favorite of the year. A+