By Jorge Ignacio Castillo

C’mon C’mon (USA, 2021): Director Mike Mills (20th Century Women, Beginners) is an specialist on family dramas with a twist. Instead of retread the same old roads, Mills explores the corners and crevices of modern families. More often than not, he finds gold.

C’mon C’mon is no exception. More than a getting-to-know-you story, the film is more interested in chronicling the experiences of a detached adult experiencing parenthood (or a light version of it) for the first time.

Johnny (Joaquín Phoenix) is a radio journalist who, in an attempt to mend his relationship with his sister (Gaby Hoffman, Girls), agrees to babysit her nine-year-old son while she helps her ex-husband struggling with schizophrenia. Johnny and Jesse (Woody Norman) become fast friends in spite of the former’s reserved nature and the boy’s many quirks.

From outside, we know Jesse’s path will be a challenging one, so we can’t but hope for his connection with Johnny to flourish. In a way, the kid’s future hangs in the balance.

The film doesn’t have a plot per se, but follows the leads as they travel across the US and get in each other’s nerves. At no point the relationship is played for laughs, unless they materialize organically. This approach works as we see them bond and adapt to each other and a sturdier narrative would only get in the way.

C’mon C’mon is periodically interrupted by essays, poems and short stories about the childhood experience. While a noble idea, it’s not cinematic whatsoever and stops the movie dead on its tracks. If at first sight the black-and-white cinematography feels like an affectation, soon becomes clear the approach forces the audience to focus.

Joaquín Phoenix tones his trademark intensity way down to great effect (after The Master and Joker is hard to fathom Phoenix as a happy-go-lucky dude). As Jesse, Woody Norman is refreshingly free of the mannerisms that characterize child actors, in spite of his rather extensive filmography (for a kid).

While indirectly, C’mon C’mon tackles stress among children. Through interviews with regular kids (Johnny is putting together a show about the young’uns perception of the future), it’s clear they perceive the planet as in peril and is causing them anxiety. They also feel consistently misunderstood.

In short, C’mon C’mon succeeds at pointing out that as challenging as kids can be, getting to know them is well worth the effort. 3.5/5 stars.

C’mon C’mon is now playing, everywhere.