Mike Mills has been on an incredible roll ever since Beginners, and his followup five years ago, 20th Century Women. Geezus, has it been five years already??? He returned to some of the best reviews at Telluride with C’mon C’mon, a film that already has some talking about another Best Actor win for Joaquin Phoenix.
The premise is simple, but you know there’s a lot more than meets the eye. Phoenix plays a journalist who forges a close bond with his nephew while on a cross-country work trip. And judging by the new trailer released by A24 today, this looks like kind-hearted, thoughtful stuff from a filmmaker we have come to expect greatness from.
Also in the cast are Gaby Hoffman, Scoot McNairy, and newcomer Woody Norman.
No word on a firm release date yet, but C’mon C’mon will have a prominent slot at NYFF and will then open sometime in November.
After gracing audiences with Beginners and 20th Century Women (NYFF54), writer-director Mike Mills returns with another warm, insightful, and gratifyingly askew portrait of American family life. A soulful Joaquin Phoenix plays Johnny, a kindhearted radio journalist deep into a project in which he interviews children across the U.S. about our world’s uncertain future. His sister, Viv (a marvelously intuitive Gaby Hoffmann), asks him to watch her 8-year-old son, Jesse (Woody Norman, in one of the most affecting breakout child performances in years), while she tends to the child’s father, who’s suffering from mental health issues. After agreeing, Johnny finds himself connecting with his nephew in ways he hadn’t expected, ultimately taking Jesse with him on a journey from Los Angeles to New York to New Orleans. Anchored by three remarkable actors, C’mon C’mon is a gentle yet impeccably crafted drama about coming to terms with personal trauma and historical legacies. An A24 release.
