Juno

Juno is a small film, but it's a small film with a big, big heart. And it deals with a big subject. The biggest, in fact. Life. The propagation of the race of men, in all it's messy glorious unpredictability. Unplanned pregnancy, to be exact. Is there any other kind? It would have been easy for a film like this to descend into cliche (as I did in my opening sentence), but instead Canadian director Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking) and first-time screenwriter Diablo Cody continually confound and challenge our expectations.



The film is held together by a marvelous, sweet (in the best way) performance by Ellen Page, playing the heroine Juno MacGuff. Whether a scene calls for broad comedy or finely pitched emotion, Page never falters. Not surprisingly, there's plenty of on target satire in Juno: of high school life, mixed families (Juno lives with her dad, stepmom and half-sister) and the baby industry. Much of the satire revolves around the characters of Mark and Vanessa Loring (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), an affluent professional couple "desperately seeking spawn" to fill their lives and massive home in the aptly-named Glacial Valley Estates. Mark and Vanessa's angst is genuine though, and cuts close to home for some of us. One of the things I loved about this film is that satire never turns into parody and these characters turn out to be more complicated, and human, than they first appear.

Abortion comes up in Juno. It's dealt with in a matter-of-fact, and I think, truthful way. I have strong convictions on the subject (see Psalm 139:13 and Ephesians 5:11 for starters) so I'm not entirely comfortable with treating it matter-of-factly. On reflection though, and without giving anything away, I believe the way the issue is treated here should prompt discomfort among those who are ardently pro-choice. Sometimes comedic truthfulness sheds more light than propaganda.

Finally. Juno features a delightfully quirky soundtrack that may make Wes Anderson green with envy!