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C'mon C'mon
From the creative force behind the 2010 film Beginners, 2021's C'mon C'mon is an intimate, edgy, and delicately crafted look at a severely broken family that's combination of complexity and artistry requires complete attention from the review and said attention is rewarded.
The film stars Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny, a radio journalist who travels across the country conducting interviews with children regarding the state of the world. A year after the death of his mother, Johnny travels to Los Angeles to see his sister, Viv (Gaby Hoffman) and upon his arrival, Viv asks Johnny if he would take care of his nephew, Jesse, so that Viv can track down her missing, mentally ill husband. Johnny stays in LA for a couple of weeks but work commitments demand his return to New York and he has no choice but to take Jesse with him.
Director and screenwriter Mike Mills gives us a lot to absorb here, but he does it with such panache that we can't help but be up to the challenge. He has constructed a strong and riveting story with this family, but he manages to blend in random interviews with the children. These interviews take up a smidge too much screentime but they are fascinating in their appearance to be unscripted. Watching these interviews did make it hard to pinpoint exactly when this film takes place. The only clue Mills provides is that it's post Hurricane Katrina, but there is no mention of covid or is anyone wearing masks. If it were in the present and children were being asked about the state of the world, covid should have come up at some point. Eventually, when it takes place became irrelevant.
When the story is focused on the family, it totally hits a bullseye...Mills provides backstory through carefully crafted flashbacks, with and without dialogue, that assemble a lot of the family dynamic for the viewer. Among things these flashbacks reveal is that Johnny and Viv fought a lot about the care of their mother and when Jesse's dad became sick, Viv tried to shield Jesse from as much of it as possible. Loved the multiple moments of Johnny and Viv reading the L Frank Baum novel The Wizard of Oz and the initial tentative bonding of Johnny and Jesse, which was one step forward, two steps back for the most of the running time.
Another thing I loved about this story is that the Jesse character is not bathed in this angelic victim light. In order to shield him from the pain from what was happening, Viv has spoiled this kid rotten and puts up with a lot of crap from this kid, without informing Johnny of any of it before they leave for New York. There are too separate scenes of Jesse disappearing on Johnny that are initially terrifying, but they actually play out two different ways, which was impressive. This kid loved to scare the hell out of his uncle, which this reviewer found troublesome, but his uncle's tolerance of his behavior was forgiven because the kid is his nephew.
Mills' directorial eye is so stylish here...shot in stunning black and white, Mills provides some gorgeous postcards of LA and New York and when it's time to focus in on the family, the camera work is so deliberately intrusive...every time the camera moves in on the family, the camera is either coming slowly around a corner or excusing itself as it tries to leave the room without being noticed. Joaquin Phoenix's gutsy performance as Johnny reminded me of his performance in Her, an effective blend of sensitivity and strength. Gaby Hoffman gives the performance of her career as the hot mess Viv, this character just broke my heart and Hoffman had a lot to do with that. Young Woody Norman commands the screen as little Jesse, never shying away from the negative aspects of the character. Already being impressed with this performance, I was blown away when I learned via the IMDB that Norman is British and employs a perfect American accent for this movie. Despite a tad of overindulgence, this film is pretty special.
From the creative force behind the 2010 film Beginners, 2021's C'mon C'mon is an intimate, edgy, and delicately crafted look at a severely broken family that's combination of complexity and artistry requires complete attention from the review and said attention is rewarded.
The film stars Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny, a radio journalist who travels across the country conducting interviews with children regarding the state of the world. A year after the death of his mother, Johnny travels to Los Angeles to see his sister, Viv (Gaby Hoffman) and upon his arrival, Viv asks Johnny if he would take care of his nephew, Jesse, so that Viv can track down her missing, mentally ill husband. Johnny stays in LA for a couple of weeks but work commitments demand his return to New York and he has no choice but to take Jesse with him.
Director and screenwriter Mike Mills gives us a lot to absorb here, but he does it with such panache that we can't help but be up to the challenge. He has constructed a strong and riveting story with this family, but he manages to blend in random interviews with the children. These interviews take up a smidge too much screentime but they are fascinating in their appearance to be unscripted. Watching these interviews did make it hard to pinpoint exactly when this film takes place. The only clue Mills provides is that it's post Hurricane Katrina, but there is no mention of covid or is anyone wearing masks. If it were in the present and children were being asked about the state of the world, covid should have come up at some point. Eventually, when it takes place became irrelevant.
When the story is focused on the family, it totally hits a bullseye...Mills provides backstory through carefully crafted flashbacks, with and without dialogue, that assemble a lot of the family dynamic for the viewer. Among things these flashbacks reveal is that Johnny and Viv fought a lot about the care of their mother and when Jesse's dad became sick, Viv tried to shield Jesse from as much of it as possible. Loved the multiple moments of Johnny and Viv reading the L Frank Baum novel The Wizard of Oz and the initial tentative bonding of Johnny and Jesse, which was one step forward, two steps back for the most of the running time.
Another thing I loved about this story is that the Jesse character is not bathed in this angelic victim light. In order to shield him from the pain from what was happening, Viv has spoiled this kid rotten and puts up with a lot of crap from this kid, without informing Johnny of any of it before they leave for New York. There are too separate scenes of Jesse disappearing on Johnny that are initially terrifying, but they actually play out two different ways, which was impressive. This kid loved to scare the hell out of his uncle, which this reviewer found troublesome, but his uncle's tolerance of his behavior was forgiven because the kid is his nephew.
Mills' directorial eye is so stylish here...shot in stunning black and white, Mills provides some gorgeous postcards of LA and New York and when it's time to focus in on the family, the camera work is so deliberately intrusive...every time the camera moves in on the family, the camera is either coming slowly around a corner or excusing itself as it tries to leave the room without being noticed. Joaquin Phoenix's gutsy performance as Johnny reminded me of his performance in Her, an effective blend of sensitivity and strength. Gaby Hoffman gives the performance of her career as the hot mess Viv, this character just broke my heart and Hoffman had a lot to do with that. Young Woody Norman commands the screen as little Jesse, never shying away from the negative aspects of the character. Already being impressed with this performance, I was blown away when I learned via the IMDB that Norman is British and employs a perfect American accent for this movie. Despite a tad of overindulgence, this film is pretty special.