Reviews by:
@thefilmobservatory
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4.5/5
Drama/Black-and-white
While travelling cross-country for an interviewing project, emotionally stunted radio journalist Johnny (Joaquin Phoenix) looks after his nephew, Jesse (Woody Norman), and connects with his young mind and perspectives.
C’mon C’mon is one of the best films of 2021 but is likely to go under many people’s radar so, in this review, I hope to play my part in avoiding that. A24’s latest entry, helmed by Mike Mills (who also wrote it), is indie cinema at its finest, sensitively powered by understated performances and unmistakeable humanity. Due to its slow pacing and simple narrative set-up, this film won’t be for everybody but I personally found myself captivated by every second and felt that I was watching something beautiful and real. To paraphrase Todd from BoJack Horseman, the long-term importance of art is less about what creators put into it and more about what people get out of it, and this was a film that I really connected with.
For anybody who’s seen a trailer or poster, I wouldn’t be surprised if the main curiosity was caused by seeing that this film was in black-and-white, and I can confirm that it isn’t wasted. Personally, I find shooting in black-and-white to be one of the most interesting techniques in contemporary cinema, as it can bring a vintage sense of articulation and heart to a story or it can be a pointless choice that comes off as merely pretentious. C’mon C’mon applies to the former, as it utilises this style, and a slightly tighter aspect ratio, to bring a layer of intimacy to the film that may have been distracted from if the story was told in vivid colour on a wider screen. With this focus, the film can consistently make its stars the centre of attention and this entirely pays off. Robbie Ryan’s calm and captivating cinematography adds to the personal charm of C’mon C’mon and the framing brilliantly makes it feel like a portrait, or a time in a life, simply of two hurt people, one young and naïve, the other experienced and isolated, learning from each other and forming a mutually beneficial connection: this is the most real yet wholesome film I’ve seen in a long time. Something I’d consider a mixed aspect to C’mon C’mon is that it’s a rather floaty film, intentionally absent of reams and reams of plot, and therefore doesn’t particularly demand the viewer’s attention. This worked for me but I can understand if some viewers feel left a little in the dark in regards to what all the buzz is about, as this film isn’t explosive, audacious or full of twists.
As for the break-out star himself, Woody Norman is a phenomenal revelation who does a fantastic job of channelling the range of extreme emotions that a child experiences, to the point where it feels like you’re watching a kid that you know. He impressively presents the common inner conflict within a child of yearning for independence, while obviously needing, and eventually realising that they desire, the nurture of parents or parental figures that can make them feel safe. Joaquin Phoenix continues to be one of the best working actors around and, while I’d be surprised if his role in C’mon C’mon as a slightly bumbling but caring uncle won significant awards as it’s not a ‘powerhouse’ performance, he’s brilliantly subtle here. His character Johnny’s emotional isolation doesn’t turn into a bitter quality but is sympathetic as it comes from the kind of loss that probably most people will suffer in their lives, meaning that many viewers can relate to what he went through and may subsequently be enlightened by the hope for the future that C’mon C’mon presents for Johnny.
Norman and Phoenix share bounds of chemistry and I’m not surprised to have heard that at least some of their scenes were improvised, as their dialogue feels so natural. There are no low points or off-beats in their storyline and the film more than succeeded in making me really care about their bond. I’m pretty sure that this was the first role I’ve seen Gaby Hoffman in but, as Jesse’s stressed-out mother, she was also excellent and realistically (I’m not a mother but I’m assuming so) demonstrated the tumultuous yet endearing experience of raising a child. Her initially strained dynamic with Johnny felt like it came from years of happy and heart-breaking history and this aspect of the story really worked partly because Hoffman and Phoenix’s performances more than sold this. The story’s ending may seem sudden to some but I saw it as not a disrupt or close to the dream, rather just naturally true to real life and how feelings and relationships come and go. However, the film ultimately shows that Johnny has been emotionally changed for the better by his nephew, which fittingly presents the idea that the importance of human relationships is sometimes about how the effects of them linger on, making the memories pertain through time, even if they don’t continue in the same consistent manner. Another strength of C’mon C’mon is how it tackles its mature themes and storylines without ever losing focus or becoming too heavy. This film is so unique in its manner of genuinely caring for what young minds think, and it wonderfully captures these perspectives across Johnny’s interviews, in which he asks children about their feelings regarding the future. At such a pivotal and sadly corrosive point in our world’s history, the theme about new generations and the future is more relevant than ever, making this exploration of the untampered innocence that could be lost especially poignant. While the children’s answers may seem simplistic, Mills suggests that their values of love, peace and equality offer far more wisdom than much of the cynical, unjust society that we exist in, and become a part of when we grow up. Furthermore, heavy topics such as loss and mental illness are undoubtedly present but often serve as sensitively addressed components of the central characters’ histories, not overshadowing the main storyline and meaning of the film. Throughout C’mon C’mon, I was also struck by the use of ambient sound, which brought a sense of engaging with real life rather than filtering and manipulating it beyond genuineness. Even when the camera stops rolling, the intimate style of filmmaking continues, with sounds of Johnny’s interviews and what I believe was the seaside lapping over the credits. Overall, sound and music in this film perfectly convey its thoughtful style, with Claude Debussy’s Claire de Lune (from the Romantic era,
famously known for pushing artistic boundaries and further exploring the complexity of human emotion) becoming a motif of sorts that wonderfully embodies the themes. At this point of this review, I’m running out of things to say but that isn’t remotely a criticism here, rather a comment on the deliberately simple style of the film. Overall, C’mon C’mon deftly avoids potential cliches and Mike Mills has crafted what is easily one of the strongest smaller-scale films of 2021. Ultimately, it was nice to leave a film at the cinema without any prominent criticisms, being able to just say “That was a good movie and I had a great time”. C’mon C’mon is a portion of indie cinema that’s easy to simultaneously enjoy and admire: it really worked for me and I would highly recommend it to fans of A24 and/or Joaquin Phoenix.
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