The movie C’mon C’mon is the first starring Joaquin Phoenix since joker (for which he won the first Oscar of his career) and is the new project of Mike Mills, mind behind the acclaimed Women of the 20th century, Beginners either thumbsucker.
In C’mon C’mon a radio reporter takes care of his young nephew and together they embark on a journey across the United States. Johnny (Joaquin Phoenix) and his nephew (Woody Norman) forge a fragile but transformative relationship when they are forced together in unexpected ways in this delicate and moving plot that talks about the relationships between adults and children, the past and the future.
Shot in black and white, it features a middle-aged man learning to care for a child for the first time, and is also set against a panoramic backdrop of 21st-century American cities and problems. While learning to approach a child’s needs, concerns, and joys with total respect. Learn that they are different, but not inferior to those of an adult. Johnny and Jesse are forced together at a time of crisis in their family and the world. Their time together is a fleeting but sobering journey that changes the way they see each other and themselves. As they travel, the ups and downs of this personal and public odyssey expand into a brilliant reflection on love, parenting, memories, and how we keep going even though we have no idea what’s ahead.
Johnny works as a radio journalist who interviews young people from all over the country and asks them about the future. Suddenly, his plans change as a result of a family crisis in which his sister needs him to take care of her son. The problem is that she has no experience taking care of children, let alone one as smart and perceptive as Jesse.
The director, more personal
Mike Mills had previously made a film inspired by his father (Beginners, this is what love feels like) and another inspired by his mother (20th century women). In C’mon C’mon tells a story that, in a way, is closer to his life experience: a story that delves into how we communicate. “I wanted to play with opposite scales. On the one hand, the film is about small moments: bathing a child, talking before bedtime. On the other hand, you travel to big cities, you listen to young people talk about their future and that of the world, so that the intimate story takes place in the context of a much larger one. The same thing happens to me with my son: the time we spend together is very private, but the big questions of life are there,” says Mills.
In 2014, Mills had a son with Miranda July. For him, it was a transition that was instantly disorienting and then slowly revealing (not unlike what Johnny experiences in C’mon C’mon), almost unexpected.
Mills knew he wanted to explore what was going on. However, in his own way, this script became a kind of autofiction: a sincere and very subjective story of his own; one that takes place within a fictional family and has countless influences from its surroundings, such as the movies, music, books and people that inspired it as well as the rhythms and textures of the culture we live in now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HlAVSDYVKk
“Johnny must learn everything a father learns, but very very quickly,” He says. “As a father, I found that you feel like he’s always a rookie trying to keep up as things change. This movie was a way to recreate that confusion, that feeling that you’re not quite ready for what’s going on. Of course, you don’t have to be a biological parent to experience that. You can be an uncle, an aunt, a teacher or a caretaker.”
The actor
Casting Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny was not a typical process for Mills. Instead, it was a nonlinear path that was about talking and exploring, then talking and exploring more. They acted out the script together from start to finish, with Mills playing all the roles except Johnny. “I’m not an actor and it was pretty intimidating” (Mills laughs). “But Joaquin likes to experience things.”
For a long time, the filmmaker was unsure if Phoenix would accept the role. However, once he did, they realized that their instincts were very much in alignment. “Joaquin doesn’t like to be seen as an act, and the truer it is, the better he can play his part and be free,” describes Mills. “So working with him was about building a situation where those emotions flowed naturally.”
As they discussed each dialogue, Phoenix became Mills’ confidante. “Joaquin has a super radar to detect errors and it helped me become aware when something sounded weird or the dialogue was expository. He was a great colleague and friend. He was always trying to see how we could make the movie better, make it more specific and real.”
The actor got into the character of Johnny, the quiet interviews he piggybacks across the country with Jesse in which he listens carefully to the interviewees. “Radio is an almost nostalgic form of communication. However, I was interested that Johnny used it to talk about the future to people who may not have a future,” adds Phoenix.
“I literally put myself in his shoes to compose Johnny,” says the actor. Also, that warmth and sensitivity was something that Phoenix felt in how Johnny fits into the world of the film. “What stands out about Mike is how balanced and fair he is with each character. Johnny could easily have been the most understood character, but Mike is just as curious about all the characters and each person is fully alive, complex and has their own point of view,” says Phoenix.
C’mon C’mon opens this Thursday, April 7, in movie theaters in Ecuador. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
