Hi everyone!
Today’s review I planned to finish before vacation, but the days just got away from me. It’s a review for a Netflix Original film that felt like two different movies smashed into one. As you would expect, I have mixed feelings about the film, but I’ll get to that in a bit. For a few other recent Netflix Original reviews, check out One Movie Spouse’s review for “The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind” (Episode #440), Keith’s review for “River’s Edge” (Episode #443), and Garrett’s review for “Triple Frontier” (Episode #445).
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Here we go!
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Today’s movie is “Juanita”, the Netflix Original drama directed by Clark Johnson and written for the screen by Roderick M. Spencer, based on the book by Sheila Williams. The film follows Juanita (Alfre Woodard), a full-time nurse who has devoted her life to her job and raising her children. After an elderly patient passes away, she begins to question her life, and decides to take a bus out to Montana to see the world. She also seeks the counsel of Blair Underwood as Blair Underwood playing Blair Underwood.
No spoilers.
Five years ago, my mother passed away from a stroke. It was her second one within a year, brought on by a combination of factors, including a heavy cigarette smoking habit, but also from living a very stressful life. After my parents got divorced, she raised my sister and I by herself while my father tried to put his life back together, and after a series of unfortunate events, she found herself also taking care of my sister and her two children in her later years. She was a certified nurse assistant, after going back to school for her certification. Unfortunately, my mother died with a lot of unpursued dreams, and much like Juanita, did not pursue them because she felt her children couldn’t fend for themselves, and pride in her work as a nurse. As you can imagine, I saw a lot of parallels between my mother and Juanita, which made watching this film tough for me, and I’m finding it hard to write a review about the film as well.
Alfre Woodard is easily the best thing about this film, particularly when her character breaks the fourth wall to talk directly to the audience. It is a bit disconcerting at first, reminiscent of the storytelling approach of last year’s “A Futile and Stupid Gesture” (Episode #027), but creates a wonderful tone for a character who can best be described as tired, specifically tired of her role as extended parent and de facto babysitter. Woodard captures that feeling perfectly, whether it’s dealing with her children, or dealing with her friends, or dealing with her distorted fantasies involving the aforementioned Blair Underwood. She performs well both within and outside her character’s element, from Columbus, Ohio to Paper Moon, Montana. And then, the film seems to transform into something different.
Once Juanita arrives in Paper Moon, we are introduced to a whole new host of characters, including an unexpected romance with Randy (Marcus Henderson), a Native American restauranteur that specializes in French cuisine. The film makes a sharp tonal shift, still focused on Juanita’s quest for self-discovery, but without nearly as many fourth wall breaks and daydreams. I can think of many stylistic reasons for the changes, but it remains noticeable, and not really for the better. The supporting cast in Paper Moon tries to make their mark, but there isn’t enough time to do each character justice within the ninety-minute runtime. The story doesn’t really wrap up at the end, either, with both the initial odyssey of self-discovery, and the unexpected detour in Paper Moon each left about three-quarters finished.
“Juanita” is one woman’s journey of self-discovery after a lifetime of helping others, performed well by Alfre Woodard. Outside of Woodard’s performance, however, the film struggles to balance the depth of the source material against the short running time, which perhaps makes the story a better fit for a limited series. Dramedy fans, as well as anyone with a desire for exploration, should definitely check out this film. If that’s okay with you, Blair Underwood.
Rotten Tomatoes: 77%
Metacritic: NR
One Movie Punch: 6.7/10
“Juanita” (2019) is rated TV-MAand is currently playing on Netflix.
