Come on, Come on

Radio journalist Johnny (Joaquin Phoenix) currently lives only for his work. In order to conduct interviews with young people about their hopes and fears for the future, he travels across the country with his small team. But then his sister Viv (Gaby Hoffmann) asks him for help and suddenly Johnny has to be something of a surrogate father to his nine-year-old nephew Jesse (Woody Norman). Completely overwhelmed with the new task, Johnny tries to reconcile work and caring. This works quite well at the beginning, but the longer the child is separated from his mother, the more complicated the situation becomes for Johnny. But little by little a deep connection develops between uncle and nephew, which will change them both permanently...

With "Come on, Come on" director Mike Mills ("Beginners", "Century Women") presents a quiet family drama that, with sensitive restraint and a dash of charming humor, goes very much to the heart despite some minor lengths. Immersed in very engaging black-and-white images, the film lives from the good interplay between the two main actors. Particularly noteworthy is that Joaquin Phoenix, after some rather extreme portrayals such as in "Joker", acts absolutely restrained here. Precisely because of this, he succeeds in filling the character of Johnny with an incredible amount of charm. It becomes so clear how much the journalist is concerned to give his nephew support in a very difficult time and what this means to the boy.

At the same time, Phoenix leaves his young co-star enough room to be able to develop. Woody Norman plays the boy, who worries about his depressive father and can't get any support from his mother, because she has to take care of her husband, with a very engaging naturalness. One feels with the child, understands why he is sometimes sad, sometimes rebels or sometimes simply forgets everything around him and is simply a child. All this director Mills and his ensemble capture very well, which despite the very slow and unexciting narrative ensures that one remains riveted until the touching end.

Admittedly, there are some somewhat tougher moments. But these hardly carry any negative weight. Overall, "Come on, Come on" is simply a beautiful film that goes to the heart without ever being even slightly cheesy. Great acting and beautifully filmed, the story just feels very authentic. Important questions about family, childhood and personal fears are never dealt with boldly, but very honestly in their subtlety. If you appreciate American arthouse cinema, you will get a real highlight here: Absolutely worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp