Sumith Prasad
Hulu’s comedy-drama film ‘Nutcrackers’ takes place on a rural farm in Ohio that belongs to the Kicklighter family. The protagonist, Chicago-based real estate “bigshot” Michael “Mike” Maxwell, arrives on the property to care for the deceased Kicklighter couple’s four children, who are his nephews. Even though Mike can’t wait to return to Illinois, the farm becomes his home when nobody comes forward to adopt or look after the boys. As the movie progresses, he adapts to life on the farm with his loved ones and their numerous animals. The setting of the film is an integral part of the narrative, and there is a reason why it appears highly authentic!
The Real-Life Farm of the Janson Family Stands in for the Kicklighter Property
David Gordon Green, who helmed ‘Nutcrackers,’ and his crew turned a real farm into the Kicklighter farm for the film. The actual property belongs to Homer, Ulysses, Atlas, and Arlo Janson—the four actors who play the Kicklighter brothers in the movie. The property is located in Blanchester, a small village in Clinton and Warren counties in Ohio. The farm is run by Karey Williams, a longtime friend of Green and the mother of the Janson brothers, and her husband, Jeff. The filmmaker decided to make the comedy-drama after spending time with the four children and becoming nothing short of an uncle to them.
Green wanted to place a camera in the middle of the farm and capture the liveliness and warmth of the Janson brothers and their relationship with each other. Therefore, he never considered another location to film the scenes set on the Kicklighter farm. When he proposed the idea to Karey, she was only happy to welcome her friend and his crew. After she proposed to make dinner for them, Green didn’t have to wait long to make the movie. In addition to the brothers, he also “cast” the several animals that lived on the farm to appear in the comedy-drama.
The animals we see in ‘Nutcrackers,’ ranging from the peacock to the adorable dogs, belong to the Janson farm. The crew had to bring only the snake that stuns Mike Maxwell to the property. Since the child actors have lifelong experience in dealing with their animals, Green and his crew didn’t have a tough time managing them. However, that wasn’t the case with Ben Stiller, the lead actor. He was a bit terrorized by the ever-present hogs that live inside the house with the Kicklighter boys in the film. The experience of filming on the Janson farm was incredible for Green, except for the freezing cold.
Despite the harsh weather, Green was happy about making a film away from soundstages. The experience was only enhanced by the support he received from the community surrounding the Janson farm in Blanchester. “[…] it was so welcoming, so inviting. It was just a beautiful experience to take an art project like this and start showing a community that doesn’t get burdened with this but gets to feel the beauty of it,” he told Deadline. The filmmaker was also able to return to the same community to screen his film at the Murphy Theatre, the setting of the comedy-drama’s climax.
Read More: Nutcrackers Mid-Credits Scene and Post-Credits Voice-Over, Explained
