I think a lot of people remember and love the film "Juno". With it's amazing cast, heart-warming story, real comedy, and true emotion. This is one of my favourite films. Ellen Page plays 16 year old Juno who has sex for the first time with her friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera) and ends up getting pregnant. She decides on keeping the baby after running full speed out of an abortion clinic from realizing that her baby has fingernails. With her best friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby), she finds a couple to adopt her baby, Mark and Vanessa Loring (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner). She then has to go through telling her parents that she is pregnant and continuing to attend high school as she gets bigger and bigger. This film explores all the difficult things that can go along with an unplanned pregnancy, not only mentally, physically, and socially, but mostly emotionally.
With all the glamorous shows on MTV these days about pregnant teens, it's hard to think of teen pregnancy as something that is real and scary rather than dramatic and cool. One of the best things about this film is hard it is on families and especially kids who have a baby at a young age. I think it was the writing along with the acting and directing that really hit this topic on the nose. Sure, the film showed no complications with the pregnancy or infant and Juno's parents didn't kick her out of the house like in some situations but the way this film was written was still very real.
Ellen Page did a fantastic job at staying in character with off-beat and quirky Juno while showing the character change and develop as her situation changes and becomes more difficult. Juno eventually realizes that she needs to set boundaries and sometimes life isn't all jokes and fun. She learns how to grow up, maybe even before she's supposed to. But Juno changes for the better from her nine month experience.
Another actor whose performance I must address is Jason Bateman's. Of course Jason Bateman is known for usually giving great performances, this one really stood out to me. He played Mark Loring, the adoptive father for Juno's unborn child. He is a wannabe rock star who has not given up on his musical hopes and dreams even though it's past time for him to grow up. Jason Bateman did an amazing job at showing how Mark is almost two different people when he is with his wife, Vanessa, and with Juno. Juno is a young and exciting musician who shares Mark's desire to be in a band while Vanessa is quite disapproving of the goal of Mark's. Each time I watch this film there is a new way that Bateman, sort of introduces an action in Mark that shows his feelings toward another character while referring to them or acting around them. In my opinion, this is one of Bateman's best performances.
Overall, this was an excellent film. Each element that it needed to have was there. The songs chosen for the score fit perfectly into each scene to give the right emotional pull whatever it may have been, the angles, shots, and editing also worked towards that too. It definitely deserved the Oscar for best original screenplay and the nominations for best picture and best directing as well as Ellen Page's nomination for best actress in a leading role. If you haven't seen this widely popular film, please go and see it so that you know what people are talking about. It will truly warm your heart.
With all the glamorous shows on MTV these days about pregnant teens, it's hard to think of teen pregnancy as something that is real and scary rather than dramatic and cool. One of the best things about this film is hard it is on families and especially kids who have a baby at a young age. I think it was the writing along with the acting and directing that really hit this topic on the nose. Sure, the film showed no complications with the pregnancy or infant and Juno's parents didn't kick her out of the house like in some situations but the way this film was written was still very real.
Ellen Page did a fantastic job at staying in character with off-beat and quirky Juno while showing the character change and develop as her situation changes and becomes more difficult. Juno eventually realizes that she needs to set boundaries and sometimes life isn't all jokes and fun. She learns how to grow up, maybe even before she's supposed to. But Juno changes for the better from her nine month experience.
Another actor whose performance I must address is Jason Bateman's. Of course Jason Bateman is known for usually giving great performances, this one really stood out to me. He played Mark Loring, the adoptive father for Juno's unborn child. He is a wannabe rock star who has not given up on his musical hopes and dreams even though it's past time for him to grow up. Jason Bateman did an amazing job at showing how Mark is almost two different people when he is with his wife, Vanessa, and with Juno. Juno is a young and exciting musician who shares Mark's desire to be in a band while Vanessa is quite disapproving of the goal of Mark's. Each time I watch this film there is a new way that Bateman, sort of introduces an action in Mark that shows his feelings toward another character while referring to them or acting around them. In my opinion, this is one of Bateman's best performances.
Overall, this was an excellent film. Each element that it needed to have was there. The songs chosen for the score fit perfectly into each scene to give the right emotional pull whatever it may have been, the angles, shots, and editing also worked towards that too. It definitely deserved the Oscar for best original screenplay and the nominations for best picture and best directing as well as Ellen Page's nomination for best actress in a leading role. If you haven't seen this widely popular film, please go and see it so that you know what people are talking about. It will truly warm your heart.