Genres: Comedy, Drama
Running Length: 91 Minutes
Director: Jason Reitman
Cast: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner
Scriptwriter: Diablo Cody
Juno, a film about a smart and sassy teenage girl who gets pregnant and decides to give the baby up for adoption upon its birth, is like its female protagonist - funny, sassy and intelligent in its essence.
From the outset, the director makes it clear that the movie is not to be a preaching, educating and generally boring kind of film on the extremely serious issue of teen pregnancy. Rather, the opening credits (done in a sketch-like, comic book style) and hip soundtrack that accompany them ensure that the audience readies itself for a quirky take on the sombre subject.
The makers of the movie are not in the least bit apologetic about the fact that they have taken a controversial and delicate matter to transform into a comedy. And therein lies the chief strength of the film. For, the end product is a refreshingly fresh and engaging comedy with an element of drama thrown in for good measure.
Ellen Page plays the titular character, Juno MacGuff, with such ease and conviction that one is instantaneously drawn into her circle. But the clever 16-year-old, who gets pregnant the very first time she engages in intercourse with her buddy and fellow virgin Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera), does not give you the slightest inclination that she is expecting any sort of empathy from the audience members. Instead the character is so in-your-face and self-assured that one has to wonder about the sincerity of the situation that she finds herself in. But just as you begin to question the reality in the depiction, Page’s character reveals the chinks in her armour in the most endearing manner imaginable.
Her decision to forgo an abortion and instead bring her child into the world is based on her discovery that her baby now has fingernails and further fueled by the tension-filled atmosphere at the abortion clinic. It is at times like this that we notice the insecurity and fear that threathen to destroy Juno’s well laid out plans.
She finally decides to give the baby up for adoption upon its arrival, and hence goes on a hunt for the perfect adoptive parents. Her search, in the PennySaver no less, finds her picking Vanessa Loring (Jennifer Garner) as the prospective mother-to-be. She is one half of a childless couple, aching with the need to become a mother. Her husband, Mark (played by Jason Bateman), seems to mirror her sentiments at first glance, but we later dicover that their marriage is about to crumble despite the near-inclusion of a new baby.
The news of their impending divorce (when she is well into her pregnancy) leaves Reitman’s otherwise composed antiheroine in a state of emotional panic. It is especially during such times of trial that the witty and sharp-tongued teenage mom-to-be is able to offer us a charming insight into her inner self. The determination and strength that makes Juno so special is reflected at this point in the film, where she recovers from the disburbing realisation that the Loring’s are going to get a divorce in the most splendid fashion. After her previous decision to pledge the baby into Vanessa’s loving arms, she now decides to follow through on her promise and hand her baby to Vanessa despite the recent turn of events.
The incredible maturity that is displayed by Juno in converting a downright disastrous situation like her teenage pregnancy into a miracle baby for Vanessa is truly uplifting, without ever seeming like an obvious social message or comment.
Page’s wonderful portrayal of the character is further aided by the crisp and witty dialogues by Diablo Cody, a debutant scriptwriter, who offers the most strikingly pungent humour to help carry the film to the top of the scales. The supporting cast consists of characters which are so well etched out, that one has no choice but to be charmed by them.
The bright, sunny sets and all American atmosphere tend to give the film a sense of normalcy. This is where Juno treads on dangerous terrain. For, whichever way you represent the matter of teenage pregancy, the sheer dynamism of the ensuing situation is sure to lend a certain degree of urgency and importance to the unfolding story. But this is never the case with Juno. Even as far back as when Juno initially breaks the news of her pregnancy to her father (J.K. Simmons) and stepmother (Allison Janney), their reaction is hardly that of the parents of a teen who has just announced to them what is possibly the biggest news of her life so far. But then again that is possibly just something that my overtly conditioned Indian sensibilities found hard to digest.
Even so, one must give credit to the makers for taking a sensitive subject and dealing with it with as much maturity and originality as possible, if not with complete honesty.
But then again, all seems well by the end of the film, when Juno delivers Vanessa’s bundle of joy and possibly a performance that is both noteworthy and cute all at once.
All in all, Juno is worth watching for the sheer brilliance of its dialogues and, of course, the emerging talent that is just-out-of-her-teens actress Ellen Page.
