Review of Junebug (2005) by Yo-Yo A — 12 Aug 2010

I wasn't worried about Ellen Page's Juno, but I couldn't stop fretting over Amy Adams' Ashley in Junebug. Two young pregnancies. One, a defiantly assertive teen masking her vulnerabilities. The other, an achingly vulnerable young bride masking her strengths. Both of them charismatic because of their unflinching certainty in the goodness of life. Neither woman realizes the motherhood that nature intends. It is in the incepience of pregnancy, those days when they are, at once, crucibles of the miraculous yet naively, ill-prepared vessels, that we see them on the cusp of terrible failure.

Juno was certain she wasn't ready. Ashley could only pray that her developmentally stunted husband Johnny might be shocked into maturity at the sight of his child. We know that is not going to happen. We see his abject inadequacy to the task and fear for Ashley and the newborn both so when the still-birth happens, tragedy is a form of relief.

Johnny gets bitch-slapped by life. He might even grow up as a result. Ashley is heart-broken but her goodness is un-phased. She will be a mother, an exceptionally good one who will ensure her child has all that she aspires to. As trenchant as is the hurt of this movie, it is hopeful at its core because we cannot help but believe in Ashley.

This movie is portrayed by its clash of cultures and the juxtaposition of urban-chic and rural-gooberism. I grew up in Oklahoma and have felt the contempt of supposed sophisticates. I know that Madeleine's journey is as great as Johnny's. But I am know that Johnny can't run from this lesson while Madeleine can and that real transformation comes when you awaken to the same reality every day. Which will be more successful as a person, I can't say. But Johnny has much more to both lose and gain. Madeleine is a specter of her humanity that we can only hope will someday be fully-fleshed.

Amy Adams is beyond wonderful as Ashley. This film needs no one else but her to find a place in recent film. But Junebug has more than her. It has real heart.