In ‘Janet Planet,’ playwright Annie Baker explores a new dramatic world

By JAKE COYLE
AP Film Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Annie Baker has been hailed as one of the preeminent voices of her generation, but the movies have long lingered in her mind and in her work. Now, Baker, 43, has made her first film: “Janet Planet,” a mother-daughter tale set in rural Massachusetts. It’s a first-time feature but, thrillingly, the evident product of a masterful dramatic veteran. For Baker, it’s less a new beginning than the realization of a long deferred dream. A24 releases “Janet Planet” in theaters Friday.