C'mon C'mon

A mystifying blend of Paris, Texas, News From Home, and in a strange way Little Miss Sunshine, Mike Mills’ C’mon C’mon is truly as good as you’ve heard. Joaquin Phoenix, Woody Norman, and Gabby Hoffman are all excellent, but the real star of the show here is the script. Mills crafts dialogue that doesn’t feel like dialogue. Every scene of dialogue feels naturalistic, creating a “fly on the wall” sensibility to the film. But the film never drowns in its realistic sensibilities, with literary interludes and a breathtaking score from the Dessner’s (if anything, this film serves as an excuse for more people to listen to The National) contributing to a wholly cinematic experience. Touches on what films can do, but never in a self-reflexive or meta way that feels like it is patting itself on its back. In short, go see it immediately.