C'mon C'mon
2021
***
Director: Mike Mills
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann, Scoot McNairy, Molly Webster, Jaboukie Young-White, Woody Norman, Deborah Strang, Sunni Patterson
Johnny is a radio journalist who travels across the country interviewing children about their thoughts about the future. When his estranged sister is overwhelmed by her husband's bipolar disorder, Johnny agrees to take their 9-year-old son Jesse off their hands for a while. Mike Mills' low-key drama portrays how these two people gradually bond and how Johnny learns to appreciate the challenges of parenthood. The film is likeable and well-acted, but to me it has an air of pretentiousness about it, especially every time the precocious kid recites dialogue written by a grown-up. Robbie Ryan's black and white cinematography looks great, though.
