Janet Planet

JANET PLANET, the directorial debut of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Annie Baker, is a portrait of girlhood that unfolds according to the gentle rhythm of a late summer day. Set in rural Massachusetts in the early nineties, this elegant, ruminative drama depicts the relationship between Lacy (Zoe Ziegler), a droll, bespectacled 11-year-old, and her mother Janet (Julianne Nicholson) with spiritual aplomb. Janet, an efortlessly magnetic acupuncturist, ushers lovers and old friends in and out of their small family orbit, each fomenting micro-dramas and subtle comedies observed from Lacy’s naive point-of-view. Janet forms the centre of Lacy’s whole universe. Viewed through her daughter’s loving gaze, the single mother progressively assumes depths and contradictions that complicate her seemingly exalted status—in other words, by observing Janet and realising her humanity, Lacey experiences her own coming of age. This emphasis on observation is echoed in the film’s array of small and beautifully specific details, which transports us to the film’s bohemian enclave with the force of a vivid memory. (Beatrice Loayza)