However, there did need to be a bit more bridging material. Sometimes revelations come completely out of the blue, and they would have worked better with a bit of foreshadowing. Other times characters have to spell out some aspect of their personality directly when it would have been better to let the audience discover that through a series of actions. Still, these slight imperfections are understandable given the budget and COVID limitations the cast and crew faced.
Another strength is that Juniper is thoroughly and unapologetically a female-centered film, with the leads, writers, producers, editors, and directors almost all being women. Key themes include the delicate balancing act women face between being themselves and pleasing others and all the shades in between rivalry and support. It is sad that this feels so fresh nowadays. But it does fill me with the hope that with young people like this leading the way, the future of cinema is going to be much brighter, including many more perspectives that are tragically underrepresented today.
“…Lawlor, Blue, and Sadowski are captivating…”
There is one aspect of Juniper that I just can’t overlook. Astrology and tarot cards are an essential subplot, and they are presented completely uncritically, as if true. Women are tragically underrepresented in science. There are many reasons for that, including, of course, sexual harassment, bias, structural problems, and having too few women at the top of the profession who can serve as role models and a support system. But the constant marketing of anti-scientific garbage to women doesn’t help either, whether it is hoo-ha from Gwyneth Paltrow or horoscopes in women’s publications.
Plus, from a filmmaking perspective, the whole tarot angle is a crutch. It serves as a cheap way to do characterization by simply announcing it rather than having it revealed more subtly. The seeming value-added with foreshadowing or accentuating a character’s intuition or spirituality is hollow. It strips these people of their agency while simultaneously making them seem like rubes. Even if you want one part to have that angle, having characters with an equally strong diversity of opinions just makes for better drama.
But hey, I wanted films from different perspectives, so I’ll just have to accept that I’m not going to agree with every angle in a movie by, for, and about 20-something women. Nevertheless, Juniper has plenty to recommend. Watch it now to see everyone involved doing top-notch work at such an early stage in their careers. We’ll certainly see more of them, which makes me very excited.
Juniper screened at the 2022 Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
"…thoroughly and unapologetically a female-centered film..."
I think this was one of the best movies for 2022. I have a sister and it made me want to tell her to watch it and shes telling someone else and someone else. The actors were so real. It seemed like a true story. Thank you so much. All 5 actors were aweso.e.