‘C’mon C’mon’ Trailer: Joaquin Phoenix Radiates Big Uncle Energy In Mike Mills’ Latest Family Drama

It’s unclear if it’s the type of movie that will stir up Oscar talk, which is kind of a shame since it’s so worthy, but regardless (and ultimately who cares), but one of the loveliest movies of 2021 is easily Mike Mills‘ “C’mon C’mon,” a sublime little family drama starring Joaquin Phoenix (read our review). Mills is a great humanistic empath whose films are always filled with melancholic nostalgia and affecting wistfulness and “C’mon C’mon” mines this rich vein again without ever feeling repetitive. Having already made a movie about his father (“Beginners“) and about his mother (“20th Century Women“), Mills looks to his son to craft the fictional story of “C’mon C’mon,” which is more of an uncle and surrogate son story.

READ MORE: ‘C’mon C’mon’: Joaquin Phoenix Shines & Empathy Flows In Mike Mills’ Sublime Family Drama [Telluride Review]

Co-starring Gaby Hoffmann, Woody Norman, and Scott McNairy, in the film Phoenix plays a “This American Life“-esque radio producer who travels the country collecting stories from different walks of life. In his most current project, he travels all over to ask kids what they think their immediate future will look like and if they have hope for it. Through some family complications, he has to babysit his nephew (Norman) and juggle work, while his sister (Hoffman), tends to her husband (McNairy), ailing from mental health issues. It’s a simple story, but such a rich and moving one, Mills so insightful about children, the human condition, and all the little micro-traumas we face in everyday life. Here’s the official synopsis:

Johnny (Joaquin Phoenix) and his young nephew (Woody Norman) forge a tenuous but transformational relationship when they are unexpectedly thrown together in this delicate and deeply moving story about the connections between adults and children, the past and the future, from writer-director Mike Mills.

“C’mon C’mon” is in select theaters on November 19. Watch the new trailer below.

The “C’mon C’mon” Original Score album from Bryce and Aaron Dessner of The National debuts November 12. Listen to the first single, “I Won’t Remember?” below.