by Chloe Buxton.
When I heard the news on the 24th of June that the Supreme Court had officially overturned Roe v Wade, my heart sank. Since 1973 the case of Roe v Wade has provided women across America with the constitutional right to have access to abortion. After being upheld for nearly 50 years, Roe v Wade was finally overturned by a conservative majority, reversing decades of progress for women’s reproductive rights. These are rippling after effects of Trump’s presidency where several judges were appointed to support the president’s far-right ideologies and create a Republican majority bench.
Research shows that 1 in 4 women in the U.S will have an abortion by age 45. Yet the new legislation means that over half of all U.S women risk losing access to the procedure. My heart sank for the women who would have to travel for miles to reach a destination where terminating their pregnancy would be safe and legal. My heart sank for the women who would not be able to travel at all.
As these thoughts all raced through my mind as I read the news, my powerlessness was momentarily relieved when I remembered a film I had been meaning to watch. Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Eliza Hittman, 2020) is one of those films I believe everyone should see at least once. Eliza Hittman connects viewers with what really happens to a young woman without access to vital health care facilities.
Autumn’s 17, living in Pennsylvania, trying to survive high school, her home life and her part time job at the supermarket. Prospects are bleak but she’s scraping by. When Autumn realises she’s been feeling nauseous for weeks, we follow her as she decides to visit a local clinic to take a pregnancy test. Their pro-life VHS tapes sum up the attitudes that surround her. Her only saving grace is her cousin, Skylar. The girls make a silent pact to scrape together any money they can (including a few twenty-dollar bills from the supermarket cash register) and get Autumn somewhere she can safely receive the procedure. Although the girls make it to New York and Autumn receives the care she needs, they both face enormous challenges during each night of their stay in the city as they crash between subway stations and dimly lit bars.
One of the things I loved about the film was that I repeatedly wondered if I was actually watching a documentary. Through long takes and subtle performances Sidney Flanigan’s face often tells us everything we need to know without it being said. Moreover, the film’s up to date portrayal of health care services is incredibly accurate making the camera feel like a fly on the wall. In the scene that gives the film its title, Autumn must answer some questions about her relationships, responding with “never” “rarely” “sometimes” or “always”. As the questions become more personal, Hittman refuses to break away from Autumn’s trembling face as she struggles to reveal the truth. The tiniest of nods confirms our worst fears and Autumn admits that she has been forced into sexual acts by her partner.
The understated relationship between Autumn and Skylar was also one of my favourite focus points of the film. The girls share the sort of friendship that is full of silent understanding. Hittman portrays so much through a small touch of their hands or a knowing look between them. In the scene after Autumn’s procedure, Skylar quietly asks “You okay?” Autumn gives a nonchalant “Yeah” and the girls carry on as if nothing has happened. These subtle interactions can’t possibly convey the gravity of this moment but it’s the best the girls can give. The film becomes so much more than a story about abortion, it’s a tale of female friendship and bravery that portrays relatable characters who don’t always know what to say, or how to react, but do know the importance of looking out for each other.
The film was so quietly affecting I sat in silence for a few moments after the credits had rolled and mentally thanked the woman who had been brave enough to make it. Never Rarely Sometimes Always is a landmark in the portrayal of abortion in film and will undoubtedly be reflected upon in the coming years as we try to connect with the stories of women effected by the change in legislation.
As I did more research into why the film was made, during an interview with Variety Hittman revealed that she had been thinking about the film for quite a while before bringing it into production. However, when Trump came into office in 2017, she immediately recognised his looming threat to women’s reproductive rights and decided to push ahead with the project. In 2020, the film was released and in 2022, Hittman’s predictions came true with Roe v Wade finally being overturned.
Never Rarely Sometimes Always was a huge success on the festival circuit, it had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2020 where it won the Special Jury Award. At Berlin International Film Festival, the film was winner of the Silver Bear award. These prestigious nominations catapulted the film into circulation and it even secured a deal with Focus Features which Hittman also discusses in her interview “I’m thrilled that Focus would take the risk, obviously it’s an unconventional title for them to add to their slate but you know, it means a lot, and it says a lot about the kind of inclusive brand that they’re creating”.
So why does making a film about abortion actually matter? Why can’t we just read about Roe v Wade and abortion rights online? Although reading about the change in legislation and learning about abortion from non-fiction texts is still highly informative, film is a growing power in our collective consciousness. As the content is visual rather than textual, when we watch a film we are able to take in information at a much faster rate. Films are able to break down intimate issues and make them consumable for the general public, educating viewers in a memorable and evocative way.
When it comes to abortion it’s a topic a lot of women don’t know how to discuss with men. We’re taught that it’s impolite to tell our dads and brothers and male friends about how we bleed every four weeks, so how would a conversation about aborting a pregnancy go down? By creating a film which deals with abortion, it opens up the conversation for women worldwide and also educates viewers through its emotionally affecting story.
We’re often disconnected from how changes made by judges and politicians actually effect people in our communities. But by creating films that deal with intimate topics, filmmakers are reconnecting the personal with the political. As women all over the world try to explain their outrage over slowly losing the right to abortion, we will turn to productions such as “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” as key examples of our new reality, with the hope that these films make us fight for change.
by Chloe Buxton, July 2022.