''Juanita'' is a 2019 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Clark Johnson Clark Johnson (born September 10, 1954), is an American-Canadian actor and director who has worked in both television and film. He is best known for his roles as David Jefferson in ''Night Heat'' (1985–1988), Clark Roberts in ''E.N.G.'' (1989� ...

, from a screenplay by Roderick M. Spencer, based upon the novel ''Dancing on the Edge of the Roof'' by Sheila Williams. It stars

Alfre Woodard Alfre Woodard (; born November 8, 1952) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including four Primetime Emmy Awards (tying the record for the most acting Emmys won by an African-American performer, along with Regina King), ...

and

Adam Beach Adam Beach (born November 11, 1972) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles as Victor Joseph in ''Smoke Signals'', Frank Fencepost in ''Dance Me Outside'', Tommy on ''Walker, Texas Ranger'', Kickin' Wing in ''Joe Dirt'', U.S. Marine C ...

. It was released on March 8, 2019, by

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

Plot

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

woman takes a

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurge ...

bus to

Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the ...

, where she reinvents herself and meets an interesting cast of characters at a French-cuisine restaurant.

Cast

Production

In April 2017, it was announced Woodard, Beach,

Blair Underwood Blair Erwin Underwood (born August 25, 1964) is an American actor. He made his debut in the 1985 musical film ''Krush Groove'' and from 1987 to 1994 starred as attorney Jonathan Rollins in the NBC legal drama series ''L.A. Law''. Underwood has a ...

LaTanya Richardson Jackson LaTanya Richardson Jackson ( Richardson; born October 21, 1949) is an American actress. She began her career appearing in off-Broadway productions, before playing supporting roles on television and film. Richardson has appeared in films includi ...

, Marcus Henderson,

Ashlie Atkinson Ashley Elizabeth Atkinson (born August 6, 1977), known professionally as Ashlie Atkinson, is an American character actress who works in movies and television (with over 90 credits) – as well as in theater. Atkinson is known for her work as Ace o ...

, Tsulan Cooper, and Kat Smith, had joined the cast of the film, with Johnson directing from a screenplay by Roderick M. Spencer, based upon the novel by Sheila Williams. Stephanie Allain, Mel Jones and

Jason Michael Berman Jason Michael Berman is an American film producer and executive. He serves as the President of Mandalay Pictures, where he is responsible for developing and structuring financing for Mandalay's slate of independent films, in addition to packagi ...

produced the film under their Homegrown Pictures and

Mandalay Pictures Mandalay Pictures or Mandalay Vision is an American film production company founded on May 27, 1995, which is part of producer and businessman Peter Guber's Mandalay Entertainment. From 1997 until 2002, Lionsgate Entertainment owned a stake i ...

banners, respectively.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

began in April 2017, in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Release

In April 2017, Netflix acquired distribution rights to the film. It was released on March 8, 2019.

Reception

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . Site's Critics Consensus says: "Juanita's refreshing journey of self-actualization may lead to a predictable destination, but a sterling star turn by Alfre Woodard gives this sojourn an invaluable spark." Woodard stated that a sequel was being written in an interview on the Kermode & Mayo Film Review podcast on 10 July 2020.

References

External links

* {{Clark Johnson 2019 films 2019 drama films American independent films Films based on American novels English-language Netflix original films Films shot in Virginia African-American drama films Films directed by Clark Johnson Films about chefs Films about Native Americans Films about nurses Films set in Columbus, Ohio Films set in Montana 2019 independent films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films