Never Repeat Occasionally Regularly Update: An Interesting Film About Abortion

The story at the center of Never Sometimes Always is deceptively simple, but the film Eliza Hittman builds on is unique. Autumn (Sidney Flanigan), a Pennsylvania teenager with an unwanted pregnancy, goes to New York City to have an abortion. Hitman is not trying to customize or exaggerate his circumstances to make Autumn redesignable or attractive, so what remains – a statement of facts about the number of hoops women have to jump to be independent – is strange, and strangely touching. At the end of the story, "rarely does it always happen," which seems easier to forget or confuse, a phrase that will never be forgotten rather than just a litany of related words.

It is clear from the beginning that the world around Autumn is attached to the past. In her showcase of school talents, kids dress up & # 39; 50s and & # 39; 60s dresses and sing oldies. Only Autumn seems to have changed in the modern day, as his rendition of the 1963 song "Mighty Mighty" sounds like modern indie pop. That ancient idea persists as Autumn visits a women's clinic in her country. When she asked if she might have an abortion, clinic staff showed her a pro-life video and harp about her beautiful "baby."

So Autumn decides to go to New York, where, as a child, she must get her parents' permission to have an abortion. When he tells his cousin Skylar (Talia Ryder) what he plans to do, Skylar steals anonymously and takes money from a store drawer where his staff (where their boss, every time they throw money at the taxi, hold and clap their hands) to pay for their bus tickets to get into town.

Image: Focus Features

Skylar's relationship with Autumn gives the audience a glimmer of hope to stick with, and it makes the film more sympathetic rather than misogynistic or completely miserable, since the steps that Autumn has to take grow more complex. One center sends him to another that will take him the next day only. The process is longer and more expensive than the procedure. He and Skylar ran out of money to travel on the train and bus back. Only problems. But at least they are united.

The obstacles they face are not limited to the difficulties of abortion, however – they experience sexual harassment and male wrath wherever they go. Their store manager is just the beginning. Autumn's adoptive father calls the family dog ​​a "rat," and defends his language that the dog loves it. Skylar and Autumn face a conspiracy in a New York subway, and a young man on a bus travels to New York who touches Skylar for attention. The struggle for independence is on all fronts, from the right-hand side of abortion to the right to be present without feeling vulnerable.

Hitman gets all of this simply by pointing out events that didn't happen in earnest. Everything that happens is unusual, and the sense of panic hanging in the proceedings alone suggests that the world we live in can be scary, especially for those who are still going wrong. There is nothing in the movie that feels great or unbelievable, which makes the Autumn struggle so devastating. Things that happen to her happen to real women every day, and filmmaker Hélène Louvart makes the impossible happenings feel dirty by hand-holding, following the enthusiasm of young women around the city.

Image: Focus Features

The slow build – with Autumn and Skylar & # 39; s stoicism in all of this – makes it all the more influential when it comes to the reasons behind the film's title, as Autumn continues its pre-abortion interview at Planned Parenthood, and is told to answer questions the questions asked "never," "rarely," "sometimes," or "always." She has put on a brave face so far, but with the care and genuine kindness – and the idea that she is finally in some protected nose – that tough front is starting to crack. His stamina does not make him tired, and the simple freedom to be vulnerable is important.

The specifications and care with which Hitman handles the exact lending issues Never Sometimes Always greater urgency than they would have been if they tried to get involved and make care that was more accessible (and less likely to discriminate against women). No unnecessary details (or Autumn's baby daddy's identity is mentioned), causing further degradation for young young women. The misery they suffer is inevitable, but in the meantime, I thank God they are not alone.

Never Sometimes Always is now available on VODs and digital platforms.