Juno was created in 2007 and was directed by Jason Reitman. Ellen Page plays the main role of an independent-minded teenager confronting the issue of an unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent events which put pressures of adult life onto her. Michael Cera plays the role of Paulie Bleeker, the father of her child and a long time admirer of Juno.
The movie opens to an establishing shot of Paulie’s house and front lawn, with Juno standing towards the corner of the screen at the edge of his garden. She is facing towards the source of light in this shot, which is the light emitted from the sun, this could be interpreted to symbolise that her future is bright and positive, and that Paulie may be a part of it. The word „Autumn“ also appears in the top right corner of the screen during this shot, to indicate the time of year.
Juno then has a flashback to the night where Paulie got her pregnant. During this scene, there is a focus pull along with an extreme close up with Paulie’s lips in the foreground and Juno’s ear in the blurred out in the background. This is so that when he speaks the words „I’ve wanted this for a really long time“, it has a greater impact on the audience.
The film then cuts to a tracking shot of Juno walking along a road, whilst Barry Louis Polisar’s „All I Want Is You“ plays over the scene. This song could have been used to emphasise Paulie’s affection towards Juno, supporting the words he whispered in her ear in the first scene. As she’s walking along the road, the film has been edited so that when she walks past the tree in the screenshot below, she transitions into a cartoon.
The setting of this movie is quite different to that of a conventional rom-com, as it’s set in Vancouver, Canada. Although Vancouver is one of the largest cities in Canada, the film itself is set away from the huge metropolitan area, in a more rural area. This interlinks with much of the chosen music for the movie, which is generally Indie/Blue Grass, such as Barry Louis Polisar’s song.
This choice of music, along with the setting, is also unconventional to that of a stereotypical rom-com. This „alternate“ choice of location and music could symbolise Juno herself, as she could be viewed as being indie/alternate.
Whereas the comic relief in rom-coms are typically provided through the best friends of the main protagonists, Juno is arguably the funniest character in the film and thus provides the comedy herself.
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