A mother’s hands are an abundance of love. But, they can also take love away. That is the crisis in Janet’s life, played by an incredibleJulianne NicholsoninJanet Planet. Who she should give love to, and how much of it, is something she’s never perfected. A spunkyZoe Zieglerplays her ever-curious daughter in one of the best child performances in recent memory, and the two create an intimate world between mothers and daughters.Nicholson plays Janet with a harshness against striking moments of vulnerability, in her greatest leading performance to date, andone of the best movies of 2024.
Annie BakerdirectedJanet Planetin her directorial debut, and also wrote the screenplay.An acclaimed playwright as well,the authentic dialogue and world-building Baker does in re-creating the 90sin woodsy Massachusetts feels painstakingly real. Nicholson has been steadily working since the 90s herself, often in supporting roles as tough, stoic women. She won her first Emmy Award for her work in Max’sMare of EasttownoppositeKate Winslet, and she more than deserves award recognition for her work in the magical,Janet Planet,which is now streaming on Max.
What Is ‘Janet Planet’ About?
Nicholson stars as Janet, a single mother and acupuncturist raising her depressed, 11-year-old daughter, Lacy (Ziegler). Set in the summer of 1991 in Massachusetts, Lacy calls up her mom from summer camp and insists she takes her home, or she’ll kill herself. So, Lacy spends the summer with her mom and the men she dates instead. At first, Janet is dating the sullen Wayne, played by a menacingWill Patton,with all trace of his quirky charm gone. Lacy watches her mother with fascination and lives a mostly isolated life away from kids her age. She hangs out with adults, from her mom and her boyfriends, to Janet’s friend, Regina (Sophie Okonedo). As the summer passes, Janet dates yet another man, a cult-like leader, Avi (Elias Koteas).She then begins to reckon with her bad dating habits, as Lacy starts to grow up.
Julianne Nicholson Gives a Restrained Performance as a Single Mother
A running troupe throughoutJanet Planetis that Janet is just a wonderful person, but has terrible taste in men. It’s not really clear what just makes her so wonderful, but she has a quiet magnetism that draws people in towards her, most of all her daughter, and bad men.Nicholson plays Janet with a reserved poise and confidencethat makes her a force in all her quiet and solitude. Her piercing blue eyes are a juxtaposition to her gentle hands, and the quiet timber of her voice.
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“She was thinking about how, at the age of 30, she’d just compared herself to Bambi.”
Janet is a healer, and Baker uses the motif of shooting close-ups of her hands throughout the film, whether it’s holding Lacy’s hand, a man’s, or performing acupuncture.The continuous return to Janet’s hands is a symbolization of her love.When Lacy begs her mother to hold her hand while they fall asleep in bed, Janet responds that it’s hard for her to fall asleep while holding hands, and then reveals she’s unhappy in her life, in Nicholson’s relentless, monotone voice. She then pulls her hand away from Lacy. Through Nicholson’s repressed performance, and Baker’s direction, they show the subtle ways women sacrifice their lives for their childrenandlove.Greta Gerwig’sLady Birdcomes to mind as the film’s one contemporary, capturing the growing pains daughters face with their tough-love moms as they grow up.
‘Janet Planet’ Is a Nostalgic Exploration of Mothers-Daughter Bonds
Janet can be unlikable, but that’s what makes herthe imperfect mother of our times. All the most important scenes take place in bed between Janet and Lacy. It’s their safe space, where they don’t have to pretend for men’s sake. In a touching scene, Lacy wonders if her mother would still love her if she liked girls. Janet stays facing away from Lacy, but says she loves her all the same.Nicholson’s ability to go from hot to cold at a moment’s notice, drives home just how lonely Janet is,and her inability to be vulnerable.When she finally turns on her back, she confesses: “I’ve always had this knowledge deep inside of me, that I could make any man fall in love with me if I really tried. And I think its maybe ruined my life. I’ve never said that out loud before."
Nicholson is devastating in her defining monologue, and delivers it in a steady, quiet cadence that drives home how she’s stifled herself to try and always be what others want. Ziegler is an excellent scene partner, andthe intimacy Baker is able to capture of thesmall moments mothers and daughters share, is explosive. But whether Janet can stop from continuously going down the wrong path with men, remains to be seen, and Nicholson is hypnotizing til the bitter end.
Janet Planet
In rural Western Massachusetts, 11-year-old Lacy spends the summer of 1991 at home, enthralled by her own imagination and the attention of her mother, Janet. As the months pass, three visitors enter their orbit, all captivated by Janet.
Janet Planetis available to watch on Max in the U.S.
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