Juno

Juno (drama)
Cast: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner
Direction: Jason Reitman



JUNO justifiably created a buzz at the Oscars. For here's a film that tackles a tangled topic -- teen pregnancy -- without getting into knots and tangles. It's such a fresh, uncomplicated look at one of the most compelling problems today. And it becomes more important in countries like India where an iron curtain is doggedly pulled down on such occurrences, despite the fact that teen sex -- and pregnancy -- is a truth that should no longer be denied here.

Just sample the no-nonsense approach. Sixteen-year-old Juno (Ellen Page) loses her virginity with her high-school buddy (Michael Cera), also a virgin, and ends up pregnant. She tells her parents who thank God the problem is not drugs and ask her what she would like to do? Earlier, Juno has already run away from the clinical abortion clinic because a teen activist said the foetus had fingernails. She announces her plans to go through the pregnancy and give up her baby for adoption. Dad helps her find a suitable couple (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman) and life goes on normally, with a few hormonal swings here and there. Juno feels left out when she's not invited to the prom, but finds a dance partner in the foster dad. But it's the real dad she really loves, even though he's a gawky, immature teen like her. And it's the sheer gawkiness of this no-holds-barred film which makes it a winner. The film neither celebrates nor condemns teen pregnancy; just treats it as a reality of life that needs to handled with sensitivity and care.

The completely youthful idiom, deftly created through the language, demeanour and attitude of the young Ellen Page and her friends makes the film a milestone mirror of its times. Wanna see what Youngistan is all about, without glossing over the naked truths? Say hello to Juno .