Review of Junebug (2005) by Harry W — 12 May 2014

As Amy Adams is one of the best actresses of today, I needed to see Junebug as the first film to score her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

And all in all, I enjoyed Junebug although I found it to be a flawed film.

With Junebug, there are a lot of characters, perhaps one too many. Although a very small scale film, Junebug puts all its focus on the characters but there are a bit too many too fully keep up with. While Junebug's central focus is on Madeline Johnsten as she meets her husband's family as well as Ashley Johnsten as she deals wither pregnancy and the relating issues that come with it, and those two are the most interesting characters. But at the same time Junebug attempts to tell the stories of the judgmental mother Peg Johnsten and her reserved husband Eugene as well as their sullen and resentful son Johnny who is married to Ashley but neglects her and doesn't display respect or care for her. Junebug keeps its focus mostly on the more interesting characters, but there are still a few too many to really be able to easily understand and fully keep up with. I found myself confused with attempting to keep up with all of the characters and found that the focus of the story was shifting between them all a bit. And although that captures the awkward atmosphere of coming to terms with being introduced to a family after marrying into one, the slow pace of the film comes into contact with its constantly shifting focus which makes it a little dull at times. Junebug is still an admirable and entertaining film which is touching and dramatic as well as featuring a clever touch of comedy at times, but the relevance of all the characters isn't too easy to keep up with because although the characters in the story are meaningful, the focus between them is constantly shifting. So Junebug is a bit of a scattered film. It is ambitious, but is a little loose in certain areas.

Still, Junebug is an entertaining film. Junebug is a slow feature, but it is really easy to watch because the script in the film is intelligent and dramatic enough with a light touch of comedy so that it finds a balance between the two genres and works as a lighthearted story. It is very well written and the screenplay harnesses the concepts that it presents to the film well enough for it to be sufficiently entertaining in an intelligent and yet relaxed manner. Junebug is a really gentle film, but that doesn't mean that it is lazy because it honestly deals with the dramatic dynamics of its characters in a way which isnt melodramatic but is strong enough to make some kind of emotional impact on the viewers.

Junebug is a simple film, a nice small scale one which is character focused and serves largely to present opportunities to its cast of actors which is great because most of the appeal in Junebug comes from its cast.

Amy Adam's gives the best performance of the film and one of the finest of her career. For most of the time she is a genial presence simply because of the fact that she has a delightful friendly charm to her and because she is a very pretty woman, so she makes a compelling effort and it is easy to sympathise for her character. She has a delightfully charming energy to her which makes her practically impossible to dislike even though she is a very naive and talkative figure, and she has a smile that simply lights up the screen whenever she is present. But as the story progresses into its second act, the material becomes a lot more dramatic and it requires Amy Adams to be more than simply charming. As her character Ashley Johnston has to come to terms with loss and motherhood, Amy Adams perfectly deals with the drama so incredibly that it is painfully realistic in how she faces the material. The kind of events that Ashley Johnston deals with is very tricky material and in a film it is difficult to execute it right without being melodramatic, but in her wisdom as an actress Amy Adams takes it on just fine and gives a performance which deservingly scored her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Embeth Davidtz manages to give a good leading role. While her character isn't the most interesting figure, she does tackle the role with great realism in a performance which is friendly as well as restrained enough not to be melodramatic. Embeth Davidtz's natural charisma in the part and her ability to interact with the other cast members very well. Embeth Davidtz's best skill in Junebug is the way that she forms relationships with other characters because the fact of the matter is that the story chronicles her as she becomes welcomed into her husband's family and learns what they are all about, and by successfully capturing the awkward demeanour of the character and the friendly nature of her which great, so she makes a fine lead actress for Junebug.

Celia Weston also gives a fine effort within her small screen time because it feels genuinely awkward to be around her due to her judgmental and unpredictable nature which means that the audience is therefore able to empathise with Madeline Johnson by feeling the same things as her.

Benjamin McKenzie also gives a fine supporting performance where he captures the self centred and introverted nature of Johnny Johnsten very well. The entire time, Benjamin McKenzie keeps to himself and essentially separates himself from the rest of the cast which reveals the mental isolation he has cast upon himself.

So although Junebug is a slow film which has a scattered focus over all of its characters and doesn't go too far, it has a lot of interesting characters thanks to a well written script which combines small scale drama with a light touch of comedy and supplies a lot of material for the cast to work with, particularly Amy Adams whose performance is breakthrough one which shows off many of her talents.