A24Janet Planet is a journey to a rural Western Massachusetts world of affectation, all twee decorations, eccentric knick-knacks, self-conscious silences and pauses, and torpid nostalgic drama. The directorial debut of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Annie Baker, the film—showing at this year’s New York Film Festival—operates in a single, precious sub-Kelly Reichardt register, its every second marked by studied images, sounds, and performances. Gently quirky to the point of exasperation, it ga
About halfway through playwright Annie Baker’s self-assured and pitch-perfect directorial debut Janet Planet, 11-year-old Lacy (Zoe Ziegler) rolls over in bed and turns to her mother Janet (Julianne Nicholson) with an innocent prompt. “You know what’s funny?” she asks. “Every moment of my life is hell.” At such a gentle moment, in such a casual