4. The trip is banal but comes with the customary perils, including the unavoidable loser (Théodore Pellerin) who’s always on the make. She seems so alone, so out of time and place. She makes bad choices, dumb mistakes, rolls her eyes. It’s so hard to make stories of young people that don’t feel like they’re using the precariousness of youth as a cheap trick. I didn’t want to do anything stagy to get in the way of the intimacy of the questions that are being asked. Running time: 1 hour 41 minutes. Your answer may reflect the dismay and distress you’ll experience after viewing director Eliza Hittman’s painfully astute third feature Never Rarely Sometimes Always, so named for the multiple-choice options on a standard in-take form at a clinic. Brian Tallerico is the Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. Written and Directed by Eliza Hittman. We used two cameras. At its most obvious, it follows a 17-year-old as she tries to terminate her pregnancy. Never Rarely Sometimes Always is transparent in its depiction of the … What really elevates Hittman’s work here is the sense that Autumn and Skylar are making believable, character-driven decisions on the fly. Physically closed in and unsmiling, outwardly surly and inwardly despairing, Autumn doesn’t quip her way out of trouble or even talk that much. *Estimated Read Time: 4 mins Eliza Hittman‘s Never Rarely Sometimes Always is a tough watch—not because of distressed theme or challenging nature, but because of the familiarity of its theme and how close it is to the ground. Directed by Eliza Hittman. Because when Autumn keeps singing, even after a smirking guy in the audience heckles her, Hittman has already defined what kind of girl this is. Just the simple plot description of “Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always” makes it sound pretty manipulative: a pair of teenage girls struggle in New York City after one of them becomes pregnant and they have to travel there for an abortion. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and Rolling Stone, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association. Why? Through it all, Hittman creates an empathetic, humanistic portrait of Autumn’s hardships. Spike Lee Recieves American Cinematheque Award, America Has to Come to a Reckoning: Director Sam Pollard on MLK/FBI, The TV Homages of WandaVision are an Amusing, Unfulfilling Distraction. Hittman's movie shows that is the case but at the end of the day, one person only has to undergo the procedure. - Has anyone forced you into a sexual act ever in your lifetime? The story follows a 17-year old girl named Autumn (Sidney Flanigan) in a small town somewhere in Pennsylvania who had recently found out she's 10-week pregnant. "Never Rarely Sometimes Always" is one of those rare film that could make someone feel less alone. “Always.” “Why are you asking me this?” “I want to make sure that you’re safe.” The shooting style of the scene was very simple, intentionally so. It is, simply, a depiction of a reality of our present, and the fact that it often feels like a thriller is a damning reflection of how much peril those restrictions have created, especially for the already vulnerable. Only a few minutes in and it’s obvious that she can save herself. For the most part, the people Autumn and Skylar meet in New York are helpful, especially those in the healthcare system. You won’t forget them. Adults often write dialogue for teenagers that sounds like posturing—what old people think young people sound like—or they embed moral messages in barely-remembered memories of their younger days. Never Rarely Sometimes Always review: powerful abortion drama. Directed by Eliza Hittman. But writer-director Eliza Hittman’s follow-up to her acclaimed 2017 film Beach Rats never feels like a polemic; instead, this frank drama is rooted in authenticity in its story of a young woman’s challenges in trying to get an abortion. The reason that “Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always” is such an impressive piece of work is that Hittman has such deep compassion for her two leads, a pair of young women pushing through a world that is constantly putting obstacles in their path. A low-key knockout, “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” tells a seldom-told story about abortion. Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020) Directed and Written: Eliza Hittman. 11. Never, rarely, sometimes, always.” So we went for a very stripped down, minimal approach. Autumn (Sidney Flanigan), a … Block this member This member is blocked; Report this review; astr liked these reviews. Hittman is telling a story but she’s also making a quietly fierce argument about female sovereignty. And she is going through her intake questionnaire with a counselor before she has an abortion. ‘Never Rarely Sometimes Always’ Review: Life or Death in Few Words Two young women from rural Pennsylvania travel to New York to terminate an unexpected pregnancy. ‘NEVER Rarely Sometimes Always’ is an indie film in America that got acclaimed in some film festivals, even winning the Silver Bear Prize at the Berlin Filmfest. It’s mostly a pacing issue in the center of the film, but this is a minor complaint for a major, personal work. Autumn barely talks at all for long stretches. Flanigan is remarkable in this scene, and throughout the film, and she’s well-matched by Ryder. It's one of the best films you'll see all year. Now, though, as Autumn responds to questions about sex and boys, she cracks. for disturbing/mature thematic content, language, some sexual references and teen drinking. 1. Lesser writers would have made these two characters too similar, but Hittman trusts Ryder and Flanigan to carve out their own roles. In writer-director Eliza Hittman's third feature, which is available for rent April 3, the realities of a national healthcare system are given a face. Never Rarely Sometimes Always isn’t agitprop for an era of increasingly restricted abortion access, though it’d be entirely justified and effective in being so. There’s something melancholy in Autumn that’s not in most of her peers, and her only friend seems to be her cousin and co-worker Skylar (Talia Ryder). The "Beach Rats" filmmaker continues to churn out some of … And those two cameras were pushed very, very, very close to her. And the scene that is in the film, it’s actually the first take. (In Sundance Film Festival.) And that means it roars. Never Rarely Sometimes Always, 2020. Calling Autumn and Skylar’s journey an “adventure” would be disrespectful. I’ll admit that I have a very low tolerance for stories of young people or children in jeopardy because it so often feels like a cheap trick to pull at the viewer's heartstrings. Eliza Hittman’s Never Rarely Sometimes Always follows a pregnant teen named Autumn and her cousin, Skylar from rural Pennsylvania to New York City. “He makes me do things I don’t wanna do,” Autumn sings, braving it alone onstage and turning a 1963 pop hosanna into something close to a mournful protest. It’s not long before we learn what’s weighing on Autumn’s mind—she’s 17 and pregnant. Running time: 95 MIN. And I remember, I came in, and she said, I’m ready, let’s do it. The reason that “Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always” is such an impressive piece of work is that Hittman has such deep compassion for her two leads, a pair of young women pushing through a world that is constantly putting obstacles in their path. Never Rarely Sometimes Always is a reference to an adviser’s clinical questions at Planned Parenthood about Autumn’s sexual history. With stunning performances from two completely genuine young leads, this is a movie people will talk about all year. It is about abortion and American critics just loved it as the treatment is very different from the usual commercial films Hollywood churns out. ‘Never Rarely Sometimes Always’ Review: Eliza Hittman’s Candid Abortion Drama Hits Hard. There are no monologues. There are a few minor beats in “Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always” that feel either too long or too rushed. A searingly truthful sledgehammer of a film, Never Rarely Sometimes Always is devastating in its simplicity. 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