Janet Planet: reviews

What the critics say average 8.0 from 74 outlets

• 10 The Hollywood ReporterDavid Rooney The movie contains no non-diegetic music and even limits major camera movement to a relatively small handful of scenes. Nothing distracts from the tender wisdom of its unimpeachably unsentimental gaze and the vividness of its very specific New England milieu Read
• 10 IndiewireEsther Zuckerman There is nothing artificial here, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t mystery. It’s the mystery of people and their unusual behaviors and the way they can flit in and out of our lives and our consciousness Read
• 10 Screen DailyTim Grierson Janet Planet is alive with possibility, not just for the youngster but also for the remarkable writer-director who announces her big-screen ambitions with stunning force Read
• 10 The TelegraphTim Robey Baker’s tingling delicacy of touch makes it a subtly distinctive experience: it’s a film I already looked forward to revisiting while tiptoeing through it the first time Read
• 10 New York TimesAlissa Wilkinson “Janet Planet” is a tiny masterpiece, and it’s so carefully constructed, so loaded with details and emotions and gentle comedy, that it’s impossible to shake once it gets under your skin Read
• 10 The Wall Street JournalZachary Barnes Though a Pulitzer-winning playwright, Ms. Baker (of the wonderful “Infinite Life”) has never evinced much interest in the sort of fluid, talky theater that regularly inhabits Broadway and snatches up Tonys, so it comes as scant surprise that her first foray into moviemaking hardly feels like a product of the stage Read
• 10 The New YorkerJustin Chang If there’s a reason “Janet Planet” never succumbs to the rosy, banalizing glow of nineties nostalgia, it’s Baker’s ability to juxtapose multiple perspectives in the same static frame Read
• 10 Roger EbertJourdain Searles The world Baker creates for her characters is so rich, warm, and beautiful Read
• 10 Los Angeles TimesCharles McNulty “Janet Planet” is a brilliant debut for Baker, who doesn’t so much translate her artistry to the screen as discover a whole new frontier for her singular sensibility Read
• 10 Rolling StoneDavid Fear It’s the kind of minimalist, yet emotionally rich memory piece that’s so quietly attuned to people, place and the passing of time that, ironically, it makes you want to shout hosannahs from a mountaintop until you’re hoarse Read
• 10 The Washington PostAmy Nicholson Baker’s delicate spellbinders more often leave their themes unspoken. Her characters grapple with longings and a need to prove their worth, but they rarely share their struggles out loud Read
• 10 The Independent CriticRichard Propes There's simply never a moment when Janet Planet doesn't feel like a real story in a real world with real people. Quite simply, I loved every minute of it Read
• 10 The Spokesman-ReviewKatie Walsh In this portrait of a deeply loving and codependent mother-daughter relationship, Baker captures something ineffable about that bond, which is inextricably linked, body and soul, and what it looks like when that connection begins to inevitably fray with age Read
• 9.5 The AtlanticDavid Sims What impressed me most about Janet Planet is what a work of cinema it is, visually alive and inventive even with a small budget and fairly languid plotting pace Read
• 9.1 The PlaylistGregory Ellwood When was the last time someone who has so mastered the stage – Baker is a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, mind you – crafted a directorial feature debut of such artistic confidence? Read
• 9.1 The A.V. ClubNatalia Keogan Few artists can so seamlessly transcend artistic labels, but Annie Baker has proven that she possesses the natural knack for quiet storytelling across mediums Read
• 9.1 Crooked MarqueeKimber Myers Over the course of its nearly two-hour runtime, Janet Planet and Ziegler build the audience’s affection for the character, and by the end, I would’ve died for her Read
• 9.0 ColliderChase Hutchinson Just as credit must be given to Baker for how she so completely captures a moment in time and place, it is Nicholson who inhabits this world so naturally that you feel like you’re just peeking in on Janet’s life Read
• 9.0 Vanity FairRichard Lawson As is true of Baker’s plays, Janet Planet envelops its audience with a lulling mood before delivering a closing punch of meaning, a kind of summation of theme and intent that casts a clarifying light on all that you’ve just watched Read
• 9.0 VultureAlison Willmore But when I came back to the film months later, the intricacy of its emotional undercurrents bowled me over, as though I just needed to know what was coming to fully appreciate what Baker was up to Read
• 9.0 IGNSiddhant Adlakha Visually lush and emotionally affecting, Janet Planet marks playwright Annie Baker’s bold transition to the big screen Read
• 9.0 Sight and SoundKatie McCabe But the film has enough empathy to go round – for a mother overwhelmed by a child’s bottomless need, and a child’s agony over the changing rules of their bond Read
• 9.0 Beyond the Cinerama DomeTina Kakadelis Janet Planet is for the weirdos who found more solace in art than they did with other people when they were young. For the adventures taken and missed, all in the name of growing up Read
• 9.0 Alliance of Women Film JournalistsAlexandra Heller-Nicholas Nostalgic but never naff, Janet Planet fills the screen with warmth and compassion for its charming, flawed and very human characters Read
• 9.0 Little White LiesCharles Bramesco Annie Baker's debut feature about a mother and daughter is magical and assured drama that announces the Pulitzer Prize winner as a filmmaking talent as well as a literary one Read
• 9.0 In Review OnlineNick Kouhi But what elevates Janet Planet to a superlative bildungsroman is Baker’s wise understanding of how the constituent pieces of those marks are culled from those we’ve loved and hurt Read
• 9.0 CinemacyMorgan Rojas The world of Janet Planet is unlike anything I’ve seen this year. Baker’s vision for an organic, immersive experience is almost trancelike in its ability to transport audiences into the scene Read
• 9.0 NPRJustin Chang By the end of "Janet Planet," not much has happened, and yet something momentous seems to have taken place Read
• 9.0 Rendy ReviewsRendy Jones It’s a poetic slice-of-life laced with strong wit and a soul-crushing backbone that leaves you either wanting more or never wanting to live in this familiar world again Read
• 8.8 Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips The film is a mite thin, and occasionally glib. But Baker knows where the bittersweet human comedy lies in this mother, and this daughter. Read
• 8.8 The Movie CricketSean P. Means Baker handles those scenes, as Lacy learns about adulthood from the less-than-reliable role model she has at hand, with delicacy and poignant humor Read
• 8.3 Looking CloserJeffrey Overstreet The movie doesn’t feel like “filmed theater” at all — it’s patient, quiet, observant cinema that asks us to pay as much attention to what isn’t said as what is spoken, as much attention to stillness as to action Read
• 8.0 VarietyPeter Debruge A small but incredibly specific movie that feels every bit as attentively crafted and evocative as those earlier titles, while remaining wholly unique and distinct from them. It’s striking proof of an original sensibility Read
• 8.0 Time OutAndrzej Lukowski It could all come across as terribly zany, or sentimental. But Baker’s writing and direction has a near-hallucinatory sparseness to it Read
• 8.0 The IndependentClarisse Loughrey Yet, turn things upside down, inside out, and suddenly, you’ll find a child at risk of being prematurely drowned in adult melancholy. The emotions in Janet Planet creep up on you Read
• 8.0 The Irish TimesDonald Clarke Janet Planet plays a little like a memory piece from an unknown future – the assembled past life of an adult who, as a child, grasped only a bare majority of the tensions unfolding about her. A lovely, flawed idyll Read
• 8.0 Rough Draft AtlantaSammie Purcell But in its moments of humor – and those little moments of shock – “Janet Planet” really finds its footing, particularly within Ziegler’s stellar performance Read
• 8.0 Screen ZealotsLouisa Moore The film is slow and introspective, but it beautifully captures a deep dive into human dynamics and the very real pains of growing up Read
• 8.0 Otros CinesDiego Batlle 'Janet Planet' is, then, a film of relationships, moods, nuances and feelings that never comes across as demagogic or self-satisfied. A kind of cinema that bets on sensitivity rather than on handing out certainties and definitions Read
• 8.0 Floating WorldDustin Chang Baker gets the haziness and dream-like pre-adolescence right. With a blink of an eye, it will be gone (...) But for this brief time, mom and daughter relationship is precious, like a planet and its moon Read
• 8.0 The i PaperChristina Newland She is an expert in transmitting lots of emotion with very little action, and Janet Planet is no different, using micro-gestures and passing expressions to tell her story Read
• 8.0 n+1A.S. Hamrah Janet has bad taste in boyfriends, but Baker has excellent taste in character actors Read
• 8.0 Always Good MoviesFilipe Freitas Janet Planet is a rare gem, so earnest in its approach that it resonates with a poignant, almost painful, honesty Read
• 8.0 The ObserverWendy Ide But it’s this sense of precious transience that makes Janet Planet, the feature debut of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Annie Baker, such an exquisite and treasurable account of a complicated mother-daughter bond Read
• 8.0 DeadlineTodd McCarthy No matter the tone or the intent of the scenes, Baker’s dialogue is invariably telling and sharp, the kind that is unusual enough to make you lean into it to make sure you’re taking in everything Read
• 8.0 ScreenAnarchyKyle Logan Her performance makes the film's speechless scenes its most powerful, allowing us to glimpse how meaningful these little moments of togetherness and solitude are, not only for her life, but for all of our lives Read
• 8.0 The SpoolSarah Gorr When the performances combine with the film’s warm, sunbleached texture and a nearly silent soundtrack, you feel more like you’re watching a memory than a movie Read
• 8.0 Metro WeeklyZach Schonfeld The rural setting and gentle, naturalistic style recalls the ’90s and early 2000s works of indie filmmakers like Kelly Reichardt and Victor Nunez. In that tradition, Baker has excelled at making a small movie about big ideas Read
• 8.0 Algo más que cineDionar Hidalgo The atmosphere is one of its most valuable assets, evoking the slow rhythm of summer in a small town while capturing emotions in a sincere, poetic way Read
• 8.0 MicropsiaDiego Lerer Cinematically speaking, it is a remarkable portrait of this relationship, and also of the world around them Read
• 7.7 Paste MagazineJesse Hassenger The many great scenes in Janet Planet underscore the frustrations of its few bad ones: Even an emotionally tumultuous childhood can be a lot more absorbing than the indulgences of the adult world Read
• 7.5 Slant MagazineKenji Fujishima Baker’s spare dialogue style remains intact, with each line revealing of character and mood Read
• 7.5 LarsenOnFilmJosh Larsen This is a sad film, if beautifully observed, about a young girl learning that she won’t always be able to have her mom to herself—that, in fact, she never really had her in the first place Read
• 7.5 The Detroit NewsAdam Graham Writer-director Annie Baker takes us inside their world and lets us observe the micro-rhythms of their life with a sense of remove so quiet and still that a sneeze would feel like an action sequence Read
• 7.5 The Mercury NewsRandy Myers “Janet Planet” is content with revealing odds and ends about its characters rather than having them confront melodramatic situations. But to enjoy it, you must be patient. Do that, and the rewards will come Read
• 7.0 Screen RantGraeme Guttmann Baker's familiarity with the area gives Janet Planet a distinct sense of place and Baker an assured way with the camera, but there's also a universality to it and to the film's central pair that helps it transcend to something even more affecting Read
• 7.0 TimeStephanie Zacharek This is a child’s-eye view of a parent rendered without a sheen of nostalgia—it feels less like a story being told by a thoughtful adult looking back than one springing directly from the fierce, untamed mind of a child Read
• 7.0 The New YorkerRichard Brody As admirable as some of the onscreen talk is, it’s mainly just delivered, along with the intentions and meanings that it contains; its precision leaves little overflow, little room for observation, little scope for imagination beyond the intimate purview of the story Read
• 7.0 The New RepublicAndrew Marzoni Whether Baker will make another film matters less than that she continues to write: Language is her medium Read
• 7.0 CinemagaviaSoraya Unión Álvarez Every word and every action carries weight, and the film is not afraid of its own artificiality. It is short on action but full of implications Read
• 6.5 The WrapTomris Laffly It keeps the viewer at arm’s length from both the joys and aches of tweenhood, when all you crave is to get just a step closer Read
• 6.0 The GuardianPeter Bradshaw The film has sympathy and charm, although I can’t exactly share all the praise that’s been lavished on it. It unfolds in an indulgent, dreamy summer haze, halfway between rapture and torpor Read
• 6.0 EmpireNicola Austin This gentle and intimate coming-of-age drama from beloved playwright Annie Baker is an assured but frustratingly slow-paced directorial debut which evokes the bittersweet nostalgia of ‘90s pre-teen girlhood Read
• 6.0 Boston HassleAnna Hoang The intimacy of this experience will feel reminiscent of a summer that didn’t entirely go to waste, but isn’t something that could be quite explained vividly in the first day of the school year’s round of summer vacation summaries Read
• 6.0 City A.M.Victoria Luxford It’s missing a truly heart-wrenching moment, as the dreamy pace doesn’t allow for a standout moment of drama, instead sitting with the character from day to day. However, Janet Planet moves casually to a conclusion that most watching will find some truth in Read
• 6.0 Financial TimesDanny Leigh More attuned to the language of cinema than many playwrights would be, her movie is softly spoken and often absurdly funny, but also deceptively un-cosy. Read
• 5.0 ReelViewsJames Berardinelli Although not without its merits, it’s far from a standout even when one considers how lackluster the current indie/art house landscape has become Read
• 5.0 Laramie Movie ScopeRobert Roten There are almost no emotional highs and lows. The camera seldom moves, and there are a lot of static camera shots of scenes where nothing much is happening. It isn't exactly a boring movie, but it feels emotionally muffled Read
• 4.5 The Daily BeastNick Schager Gently quirky to the point of exasperation, it gazes daintily at yesteryear, yet the only past it makes one pine for are the two hours prior to its commencement Read
• 4.0 The Arizona RepublicBill Goodykoontz Ultimately, the movie is really boring. Any charm or spark it might have had is quashed by a lack of strong direction and writing Read
• 4.0 The Austin ChronicleRichard Whittaker If you grew up in the 1990s post-hippie Massachusetts performance arts scene (as Baker did), Janet Planet may tug on your nostalgia, but you may not feel otherwise drawn to its ethereal qualities Read
• 4.0 Common Sense MediaChristie Cronan Great acting is overshadowed by a tediously slow, thin story in this reflective drama that's not for the impatient Read
• 4.0 The ScotsmanAlistair Harkness Structured as a series of prolonged encounters with different interlopers to their implausibly luxurious woodland retreat, the film falls victim to the mimetic fallacy as Baker makes us privy to the tedium of Janet and Lacy’s lives without unlocking anything particularly interesting or profound about either of them Read
• 4.0 CultureMapAlex Bentley There may be those who vibe with the wavelength of the story Baker is telling in Janet Planet, but in this critic’s opinion, it doesn’t contain enough meat on its bones to make for an engrossing experience Read