A24 definitely prides itself on bringing new cinematic voices to audiences, and they have another one in the 2024 new movie Janet Planet from Annie Baker. While this marks the first movie for Baker in her career, she is already an acclaimed writer, winning a Pulitzer Prize as a playwright. That may sound familiar to some, as in 2023 A24 released the debut movie from an acclaimed playwright, Celine Song's Past Lives.
Baker is telling a different kind of story though, as Janet Planet is a coming-of-age tale, led by Emmy-winner Julianne Nicholson. Like Past Lives, Janet Planet has received some strong buzz after some festival premieres, so there already is some excitement about it in the indie movie community.
Find out everything you need to know about Janet Planet right here.
Janet Planet how to watch
Janet Planet is streaming on Max and avaialble through digital on-demand platforms in the US. It's also available on-demand in the UK.
Janet Planet cast
Julianne Nicholson headlines Janet Planet. Her most acclaimed role to date is her Emmy-winning performance in the HBO miniseries Mare of Easttown, though she has a number of other notable performances, including in Dream Scenario, Blonde, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, Winning Time, Black Mass and August: Osage County.
Meanwhile, starring opposite Nicholson as her daughter in the movie is newcomer Zoe Ziegler, who makes her movie debut with Janet Planet.
Other members of the Janet Planet cast include Elias Koteas (Chicago P.D.), Will Patton (Yellowstone) and Sophie Okonedo (Slow Horses).
Janet Planet plot
In addition to directing, Annie Baker wrote the screenplay for Janet Planet. Here is the movie's official synopsis:
"In rural Western Massachusetts, 11-year-old Lacy spends the summer of 1991 at home, enthralled by her own imagination and the attention of her mother, Janet. As the months pass, three visitors enter their orbit, all captivated by Janet and her spellbinding nature. In her solitary moments, Lacy inhabits an inner world so extraordinarily detailed that it begins to seep into the outside world. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Annie Baker captures a child's experience of time passing, and the ineffability of a daughter falling out of love with her mother, in this singularly sublime film debut."
Janet Planet trailer
Get a peek at what makes Janet Planet such a charming upcoming movie by watching the trailer directly below:
Janet Planet reviews
Janet Planet has a "Certified Fresh" score on Rotten Tomatoes of 85%, with critics calling it "an absolute original."
Janet Planet awards
Here's a round-up of the major awards and nominations that Janet Planet has earned:
Gotham Awards
- Best Screenplay — Annie Baker (nominee)
Independent Spirit Awards
- Best First Feature (nominee)
- Best First Screenplay — Annie Baker (nominee)
- Best Cinematography (nominee)
Annie Baker career
Again, this is Baker's first feature-length movie, though she does have a couple of previous credits in movies and TV, appearing as an actress in the 2014 movie While We're Young and writing an episode of the TV show I Love Dick.
She has been more prevalent on the stage, including winning a Pulitzer Prize for her 2014 play The Flick about ushers in a small Massachusetts movie theater. Some of her other plays include Body Awareness, Circle Mirror Transformation, The Aliens, The Antipodes and Infinite Life, as well as an adaptation of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya.
