Written and Directed by Eliza Hittman
Starring Sidney Flanigan, Talia Ryder and Ryan Eggold
Running time: 1 hour and 41 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for disturbing/mature thematic content, language, some sexual references and teen drinking

by Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport 

“If it is positive - any way that it could be negative?”

When it comes to the subject of abortion, no matter what your stance may be, I believe it is safe to say there is a lot we do not know or understand on the subject. By no fault of our own, the information is not readily available, nor is it a topic that is spoken about freely. The discourse on this subject seems to be rampant, but what exactly is the truth - what are the facts? To me, in Eliza Hittman’s (Beach Rats) film Never Rarely Sometimes Always, one thing is clear: our government doesn’t give a damn about women’s health. This is confirmed by the lack of funding, minimal information that is dispensed on the issue or process of abortion and the inadequate access afforded to those in need. 

The film opens with seventeen year-old high schooler Autumn (Sidney Flanigan) performing a personal song at the student talent show. Autumn is practically transparent, her entire story is written on her face. All one needs to do is simply glance into her eyes to find that something isn’t right and that she is courageously hurting. Meaning, she is suffering through it because, to a teenager, that seems like the only option. Her performance at the talent show is essentially her way of spilling her guts to the entire community, a plea for help. 

I found Autumn’s method of exposing herself to be what one should expect from a teenager - an indirect route to the problem. After the show, her family gathers for dinner at, what is most likely, the hot spot in their rural Pennsylvania town. Everyone in town seems to be there. Her mother attempts to engage with her. Autumn was sending the signs that something is up, but the “I don’t wanna talk about it” attitude is being delivered (a demeanor that is commonplace for most in pubescent years). I could not help but empathize with Autumn, despite never finding myself in a comparable situation. I could relate to the feeling. Those moments in your life when you feel utterly alone… only for Autumn, she isn’t.  

Autumn is pregnant, and no matter your opinion on when a fetus becomes a life, my feeling is- if I had a bun in the oven, I think it is pretty safe to say that it would be hard for me to ignore the fact that something is indeed growing within me, a ticking time bomb that requires decisions to be made. Like most teens (at least in referencing my own experience as one) Autumn is a person of few words. Maybe it is the fear of the situation she finds herself in? The self pride? The lack of trust in adults- especially when one of them forcibly gotten her into the predicament she is in? Or this is a response to the way in which our society’s culture handles the topics regarding sex, abuse and women’s health in general - we simply don’t talk about it, at least not in a meaningful way.

Regardless, Autumn would rather handle things on her own terms, like googling self induced abortions that involve chugging a bottle of NyQuil or inflicting pain on her own body via punches to the stomach. To her, these seem like better options and, frankly, teenager Rosalie would have agreed. Heck, I still struggle with talking about my feelings. There have been times in which walking across broken glass seems like a better option than opening up myself to others that are not named Lil’ Foxie (my doggo). I say this at thirty-six freaking years old. At seventeen, being faced with the predicament of a tiny being forming inside my body, when I couldn’t even legally vote… well that’s enough to give me a panic attack. 

Much like Autumn, I too probably would have thought, breaking my piggy bank to buy a bus ticket to the land of legal abortions for minors - aka NYC would be a better idea than just asking my parents for help. Even if my trip to NYC meant packing the biggest suitcase known to man to schlep through the packed Manhattan sidewalks, sleeping in the bus terminal and going hungry. Similar to Autumn, I would have convinced my cousin to be there too - coincidentally she was also my best friend during my teen years. For a teenager, this all seems very logical; a well thought out plan. What could possibly go wrong?

Throughout this film, I found that it accomplished so much with saying very little and it is this subtly that makes it that more effective. It is set in a rural Pennsylvania town - but it could be anywhere USA, and a woman would probably still encounter the same inefficiencies and deplorable experiences when in a situation such as this. It is hard to believe this is Sidney Flanigan’s (Autumn) film debut. She is an impressive powerhouse and one to watch, without a doubt. I felt her pain and, due to the way the film plays out almost in real time over the course of a weekend, Autumn’s journey, at times, felt agonizing. The director is putting everything out there and, by doing so, I felt the stress, anxiety and sadness this character was going through, especially when faced with revealing the truth. 

This is a critical and necessary story that knocked the wind out of me. It is so important to not just have these stories told, but for them to be made by women. It not only shows the horrors of healthcare in our country, but the horror of being a woman and grappling with a situation that no one truly wants to talk about. It is not a matter of whether you are pro-choice or pro-life - it is facing the fact that many of us truly don’t understand the situation, that our society continues to perpetuate a culture of uneducated human beings that then face dire conditions when faced with truly important decisions to make.

After Autumn has the abortion, her cousin, Skyler (Talia Ryder) asks “Did it hurt? What was it like?”. My generation was not afforded this sort of information, does it make sense to continue this for future generations as well? Having knowledge is power and instead of ignoring the ugly truth, maybe it should be looked at head on so that more of us can understand.

In select theaters Friday, March 13th and will open wider over the next few weeks.