As you might guess, Lisa becomes emotionally attached to Justine as she indirectly teaches Justine to stand up for herself…with a few choice swear words…after being bullied by some rich “b*****s” in the park. From here, Lisa must find some sort of life balance with her own children, her father-in-law, the ongoing military investigation, Justine’s parents—who are slightly racist and overprotective, and then come to grips with own personal anger issues.
Justine is a fantastic, little, indie film and its success comes directly from its writer/director/star Stephanie Turner. Her performance as Lisa is well-developed and fascinating to watch. Her character is balanced off by an equally fantastic performance by Glynn Turman. While Lisa is slowly falling apart, he plays the solid foundation that keeps her from completely losing it, while at the same time being pushed to his own limits.
“Her performance as Lisa is well-developed and fascinating to watch…”
So not only is Turner directing and starring in her film but then adds the pressure of working with child actors, who are all probably under ten. Sure, the kids in the film could have put a few more years of acting school under their belts, but Turner does get some good performances out of them. Daisy Prescott as Justine is adorable, and if she really isn’t disabled, then she deserves an Oscar.
Not to keep going on about the work Turner put into her film, the story is also solid and stays grounded by refusing to go over-the-top at any point in its narrative. While Justine’s parents may be unlikable and you may not agree with their parenting choices for Justine, Turner keeps the film’s conflicts within Lisa herself. It’s a nice, tight script that stays on course from beginning to end.
In every way, Justine shines with the charm associated with independent filmmaking. In fact, a big budget could have easily ruined this film by replacing authentic performances from its cast with slick performances by studio professionals. This also applies to the indie style of Justine’s cinematography, sound, and editing. Everything about this film feels real and is void of any Hollywood pretension.
Justine screened at the 2019 Newport Beach Film Festival.
"…steadfastly holds to a clear vision for her film’s look and tone."
SLIGHTY racist? Well, yeah, he didn’t burn a cross in front of someones house or commit a lynching, but I’d stll say that’s an understatement.
it was a fine movie up until the end – the ending was terrible – it left so many things hanging. I was actually angry that I spent so much time invested in the movie – and “Bang” the movie ends leaving me in complete confusion as to what happens!
Ugh agree!!!
I Really loved the movie it made me cry thelittle girl in wheelchair looks just like my daughter the ending was bad though Itvneeded to show if the little girl made it through surgery it didn’t show it The way it went off is there gonna be another movie about it their should be and we don’t even know if the girl made it through surgery or if she died or what please make part 2 it touch my heart so much lil girl acted and did everything just like my daughter and look just like my daughter it was amazing I could not stop crying
Although I liked the movie, I didn’t feel any empathy for Lisa. If she had been black and acted like she did, perhaps I would have felt differently, but then again, maybe not. Her behavior towards her kids bordered on neglect. Not only did her husband die but their father as well. She’s a grown woman who, unlike many, did have the support of her father-in-law who she was very rude to throughout the movie. Was there a reason for that? If so, it was never stated so why have the character act that way?
In many ways, Lisa appeared just as racist as Justine’s father. She didn’t really want to take her kids to work with her the first time. And when she took them with her the next time, it was mostly to entertain her white charge who did seem to enjoy their company. Seems to me she was more maternal toward the white child than her own children.
Many movies are diverse these days but often it feels like it’s just for the sake of being diverse, not for any particular story point.
I thought the movie clearly portrayed that Lisa was pushing her family away because of her grief and the fact that her children and father in law are obviously going to remind her of (and want to talk about) her husband, who she is desperately trying not to think about. That’s a very common thing that grieving people do, and Justine was an entirely new person in her life that she could let her guard down with because there was no emotional baggage associated with their relationship, just a clean slate. Of course Lisa’s absence from and hostility toward her family for most of the movie is awful, but sadly that’s just the reality of grief for some people. We have to remember that she only lost her husband 4 months ago, so terrible mother or not, it makes sense that she’s still in the depths of grief.
And side note, other than the before mentioned avoidance of her family, it’s clear that she didn’t want to take her kids to Justine’s house because of the parents. Nanny or not, the parents were excessively adamant about keeping the relationship professional, not changing plans, and being wary of new people. They were ridiculously uptight, regimented, control freaks and had Lisa asked for permission prior, I’m sure they would have said no to her bringing her kids over. They would be upset about having unknown children in their house playing with their daughter, they would be upset that Lisa’s attention wouldn’t be completely on Justine, they would be worried about the kids wreaking havoc I’m sure.. because that’s the kind of people they were. Even though she’s their nanny and any normal person would be all for introducing their kids to new friends, these parents didn’t want socialization, friendships and family type relationships with their staff, and taking your children with you to work would be seen as entirely unprofessional to them.
By the end of the movie, once Lisa’s emotions are finally unlocked, you can see how proud of her daughter she is as she performs in the hospital. The kids and Don acknowledge that she has been acting entirely differently since the dad died.. why would she be suddenly racist to her own family now after being a good loving mom and wife before hand? That just doesn’t add up, especially because you can tell that she loved (and misses) him desperately. If my husband died, I’m sure I would withdraw from my family as well.. especially his parents.
So you simply going overlook the racist comments of father?
[…] Synopsis: The film follows Lisa Wade, a single mom who is forced to move in with her father-in-law after the death of her husband. She takes a job as a caretaker to Justine, a young girl with spina bifida in what turns out to be a racist household. At first an unlikely pair, the two become friends and ultimately help one another grow and change. READ REVIEW […]