As thorny as it is, the The issue of abortion is being an important discussion in recent weeks, when the reform of the law in our country comes together with the recent threat to the right to it in the United States after a decision by the Supreme Court. And I know that calling it that is already going to set the comments on fire, but I’m not worried. Women should have that right and there should be certain guarantees to be able to do it safely.
I tend to be cynical about the possibilities of making notable changes in the world, even if it can happen from time to time. Yes, I believe in its possibilities bring perspectives closer together and be able to reflect particular problems with which one can empathize globally. Related to this topic, few films are as successful in the latter as the recent ‘The event’ or ‘Never, almost never, sometimes, always‘, an exquisite indie drama that we can find on Amazon Prime Video.
together in adversity
The film takes us to rural and impoverished Pennsylvania, where we follow the perspective of young teenager Autumn (Sidney Flanigan). From reserved character and even dry in appearance, we observe from her work as a cashier in a supermarket to her participation in a local talent show, where she sings accompanied by her guitar. What in another film would be the triumphant third act in her case is a first act that she reveals everything you have to endure that justifies your reservations and refusal of contact with others.
Having to work to support a dysfunctional family, where her compassionate mother (Sharon VanEtten) swallows with a quite deplorable couple in almost all aspects, and put up with ridicule for wanting to express himself artistically in a high school contest they have forged that character that later becomes key to face the detonator of the film: your unwanted pregnancy. Your quest for trying to interrupt him is going to become the most depressing odyssey that one can see on the screen.
Trying to keep it a secret, given how unreliable his environment is, he tries to carry out the procedure in his own State, but the legislation works totally against you. Finally, he will start a journey to New York with the only help of his cousin (thalia ryder), both with few resources and no place to stay, encountering not only bureaucratic obstacles but also being exploited by a series of men wanting to take advantage of their vulnerable situation.
‘Never, hardly ever, sometimes, always’: standing in the shit
The director and screenwriter Elizabeth Hittman she explores all those terrible and/or uncomfortable situations with care and with total naturalism, trying to find a certain luminosity among all the shit through the relationship between cousins. Even with its complexity and its ups and downs, the connection between the two is the only support in a very frustrating trip sometimes.
A key scene shows how having each other is the only way to be able to withstand all the bitter pills that life throws at them because of their status as women. The film is very precise when it comes to show the erosion of the american healthcare systemand also the complications and discomforts of the process that show that it is not easy to get into it.
The uncomfortable sequence from which the title is taken is an example of the harshness of the moment, of how it can lead you to give up just out of sheer frustration, and it is exquisitely told without resorting to great effects, just fixing the camera on its protagonist during long time, no cuts. Samples of a superb film and a narrator of clear ideasso it is an almost obligatory recommendation, since it is one of the best films of recent years.