Cinema: ‘C’mon C’mon’ The Memory of Growing Up
The experience of growing up never really ends. As children, there is a lot to learn, express and communicate in a world that is entirely brand new and when a child becomes an adult, that does not necessarily mean that maturation stops. There is more to learn in the world, mistakes to make and emotions to feel. There can also be another period of growing up; raising a child. There is responsibility and learning in how to shape a new person in this world. The film C’mon C’mon understands this other period of growing up all too well and tries to capture how a child growing up and a parent raising their child are more similar than different. The film is supported by small documentary-like detours, soothing music and beautiful cinematography that all add to the tapestry of growing up.
The film focuses on Johnny (Joaquin Phoenix) a radio journalist who is interviewing kids around the country and asking them about their experiences, opinions and what it is like living in a certain area of the country. Johnny one day calls his sister, Viv (Gaby Hoffmann), and learns that she is planning to help her ex-husband, Paul (Scoot McNairy) transition into a new apartment. Paul suffers from severe mental illness and needs Viv's help, but she needs someone to watch her nine-year old son, Jesse (Woody Norman). Johnny offers to watch Jesse and flies out to California to stay with him. As the movie continues, Johnny is asked to watch Jesse for a lot longer than he expected. Even so, with Viv’s permission, Jesse accompanies Johnny back to his home in New York City and goes with him on his interviews with young children across the country. Together, Jesse and Johnny learn a lot about themselves and each other. C’mon C’mon is the fourth feature film from writer and director Mike Mills who writes more semi-autobiographically for his feature films. This film is based on his experience raising his own nine-year old son. He is able to translate this directly into how the film is structured.
What makes C’mon C’mon really brilliant is its natural exposition of information. Johnny, as a character, is trying to understand Jesse and Jesse is trying to understand Johnny. Since an audience member also goes into the film knowing nothing about these characters, all parties involved in the story (including the audience) are learning and experiencing things for the first time. Usually in a standard genre film or big budget Hollywood film, the narrative and character information feel very “by the book”. This is shown through character weaknesses being front and center and character strengths are revealed when they must overcome a challenge. However, in C’mon C’mon, the exposition of character is nuanced, information is revealed bit by bit which makes the story feel natural and more along the lines of a shared experience of raising a child or growing up. All of the other aspects of the film support this narrative structure.
The film must be given credit for how restrained the other elements are. Many films try to overcompensate with catchy soundtracks, experimental editing, flashy cinematography or dramatic actors that try to steal scenes. In C’mon C’mon, elements are used ever so slightly to focus more on the subjects and story of the film rather than distract the viewer. The music in the film can be loud, but is either a symphonic orchestra playing classics such as Claire de Lune by Claude Debussy or electronic music composed by Bryce and Aaron Dessner, both of which create a very calm and almost wistful feature to certain scenes. The editing is not flashy and does not distract from the story. The black-and-white cinematography steals away the distractions of colorful sets and nature so that only the actors and story can be viewed. Everything feels stripped away so that, whatever is on screen and whatever is happening in the story, can be seen at face value. The whole film feels like a cohesive piece that is not trying to show off and is more interested in people and the experience of trying to figure it all out. What adds to this aspect is the documentary side of the film.
Throughout the film there are slight detours that the narrative takes. This happens in two separate ways. The first and most prominent is the documentary/interviewing style that takes over the narrative. When Johnny interviews kids in cities like Detroit, New York City and New Orleans, the children being interviewed are not actors, but rather real children. They answer genuinely with their opinions and feelings about questions that include the future, growing up, and other questions that allow them to think deeply about their lives. A lot of what these kids from many different backgrounds have to say is really brilliant and eye opening to their experiences and adds a grounded experience while watching the film. The other slight detour is when Johnny reads something from a book he finds at Viv’s house. When he reads, the film goes into voice over narration while a montage highlights whatever he is talking about. The things he reads range from a children’s book titled, “Star Child” by Claire A. Nivola, which captures the more sentimental side of being alive on earth, to an essay titled “Motherhood” by Jacqueline Rose that describes the societal weight of being a mother. These two very different parts of the movie focus on the concept of learning. Johnny is asking questions to the kids to learn more about them and the kids think about their experience and give an answer. The book and essay that Johnny reads show him learning more by reading how to raise a child or view parenting from a different way other than his or Viv’s experience. These two things also ground C’mon C’mon into reality because it lets other voices share the screen with Johnny and Jesse.
Everything in C’mon C’mon is extremely well balanced. The editing, music and cinematography do not take away from a well laid out story with a natural exposition that the audience experiences alongside the characters. The interviews with real children in Detroit, New York and New Orleans adds a real-world aspect to a fictional story. On these creative merits alone, this would make any film truly wonderful, but what makes it special is the story itself. It is about two people trying to find themselves and figure life out. Growing up is a special time in their lives and it is complicated. So much can go wrong and so much can go right but whatever happens is that it shapes them into who they are in the present. What they come to realize is that growing up never stops and the memories made during this process can never be taken away.