Juno

Juno (2007) US
Director: Jason Reitman

Juno is a film about a young girl, who finds herself pregnant after her best friend Bleeker and her have sex in a chair. Juno is only sixteen when this happens, and decides that she doesn't want to have the baby at all. Whilst she is in an abortion clinic, Juno decides that she doesn't want to abort the baby, instead she would rather go ahead with the pregnancy, have the baby and then give it up for adoption. She carries on going to school to carry her education on, and tells her father and step-mother that she wants to give the baby up for adoption. Juno chooses a couple who are looking to adopt a baby-Mark and Vanessa. Everything seems to be going well, and all according to plan, however, one day, Mark tells Vanessa that he's not ready to be a father and leaves her. After everything that has happened, Vanessa thinks that Juno won't allow the adoption to go forward, however, Juno leaves her a note saying 'If you're still in, I'm still in'.
Juno later goes in to labour, giving birth to a boy, whom Vanessa takes home with her. Juno realises that she loves Beeker, and they end up together.


I chose to use Juno as an example of what my film will be about, due to the fact that the main theme of the film, is the same as my short film. Teenage pregnancy is clearly the main theme throughout the film, and the audience see the main character cope with the changes this has made to their lives.
I am using similar themes and ideas for my film, however, I am altering them slightly through the use of mise-en-scene and cinematography. Juno doesn't use flashbacks, however, I am going to use them in my film, as my way of showing the audience how the main characters life has changed since she became pregnant.

 

Throughout the film, Juno is seen wearing typical clothing that a teenage girl wears in order to make the story more realistic. Juno is often seen wearing simple clothing like jeans, or hoodies and jackets, nothing too fancy or unbelievable. This helps to show that she is just a typical teenager, no different to everybody else. The fact that her clothing stays the same, shows that she isn't a girl who tries to fit in, and that she accepts that having a baby will make her fit in less thanh she already does.

A lot of low angled shots have been used, especially when they are focused on things such as Juno holding the pregnancy test, or when Juno holds her baby. These low angled shots show what is the most important thing going on at that time. For example, the low angled shot of Juno holding the pregnancy test in her hand is effective as the audience know that this is a really big moment in her life and that she has to make a life changing decision. This connects the character to the audience.