Juno Review

Narrative Text 

Main character – Juno MacGuff

Brief synopsis of the plot:

Starting with a cartoon version of Juno walking into a drug store, Juno then takes a pregnancy test to discover it is positive. On her walk home we get an introduction to her life, the music that is played gives a sense of calm about the situation. The central theme of the story is a chair, which is initially where the baby is conceived, by the two parents, Juno and her high school boyfriend, Bleaker. Juno then panics, and calls up her best friend, Leah. Leah suggests getting an abortion, which Juno agrees on. When entering Women Now, an abortion clinic, Juno panics and realises that the idea she has decided to go with, is the wrong one. So we then see her running out of the clinic, for me this is the point in the story when we begin to see Juno grow up.  Whilst dealing with all these problems, there is still the problem of telling her parents, surprisingly, they take it well, saying they had expected it, a moral boost for Juno I’m sure! Looking in the Pennysaver with Leah, she stumbles upon a couple that is desperate for a baby, Mark and Vanessa.  Juno and her father Mac visit the hopeful couple who live in the suburbs, although surprised by Juno’s random attitude, Mark develops a friendly liking for Juno, and the two quickly bond over a shared love of grunge music and horror films. While Vanessa is the uptight one, who is left to all the decisions, and ultimately, the one who wants the baby. Over time, Mark realises that Vanessa is too complicated for him, therefore a huge argument occurs between the contrasting two. Juno, whilst present at the time of argument, leaves, angry that the un-born child’s parents are potentially going to separate. Juno drives away, only to return leaving a note on the doorstep which at first the viewer does not know of the message. As the movie and pregnancy develops, we see Juno turn into a loving, more caring person.  The final scene is of Juno giving birth, and Vanessa holding the baby in its room, it ends with a chair in which Vanessa sits with her new baby boy. On the wall, hung behind her is a picture frame with the note Juno left Vanessa that evening, saying “Vanessa, I’m still in if you are”.

 

How the character is shown:

Juno MacGuff played by Ellen Page, is a quirky and precocious teenager, who is quickly asked to grow up as she discovers she is pregnant. As we expect a normal 16 year old would react, scared and hapless, we are surprised to see Juno handle the situation with maturity and responsibility. At first, Juno is seen as a strange, yet delicate character. As the story goes on and we see her love for her baby, Bleaker and Mark develop, we see she has a sensitive, gentle side. We see her to be quite strong, and uncaring, however as her pregnancy goes on she starts to show affection. The viewer quickly develops a relationship with Juno, and has a soft spot for her to understand how she must be feeling.

 

How the character contributes towards the narrative:

As Juno is the main character, most events are viewed from her opinion. This was probably done as Juno is pregnant, so by having the narrative from any other person would not be useful as we would not be able to see pregnancy from her point of view, which in effect is the most important one. The story is told from her perspective, therefore we are crammed with views about sex, adoption, and boyfriends, and as this is mainly a teenager movie, this makes the narrative, coming from Juno, very important. 

Grade: 70 / 100

Thank you for getting your work in so quickly, Hannah.  You have captured the film well.  The synopsis veered towards making observations on the narrative, rather than simply retelling the facts.  However, the exploration of Juno's representation is very sound.  You have clearly seen that the director is challenging the audience to question the stereotypes of teenage behaviour.  Also, you have made the distinction between representation and narrative, which is not always easy.  Well done