It's kinda hard to compliment someone who's always in a bad mood

Continuing my trip up The Guardian's Top 50 Movies of 2020...

#10 : Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Lightning-rod drama about the thorny subject of teenage abortion, with a title alluding to the sexual-behaviour questionnaire which has become one of the many obstacles to obtaining one in the US. Sidney Flanigan plays the 17-year-old who heads to a New York clinic; Eliza Hittman directs.

So - we've made it to the top 10.  And, somewhat shockingly, I've yet to have previously seen any of the films - I take some of the blame for this (I was listening to a lot of music last year) but the somewhat obscure nature of a large proportion of the list also has to take some of the blame.  I'm pleased to say that I've at least heard of nine out of the ten remaining films and I was planning to watch most of them at some point - but you'll have to wait and see how many of them I've actually managed to watch beforehand (spoiler alert - it's not many!)

So, this one was on my list of films to watch, but was also on the "I'll need to be in the right mood to watch it and, let's be honest, I know I never will be" list.  I'm expecting an infuriating but worthwhile watch which probably didn't get 10% of the audience it should - as The Guardian puts it, it's a "thorny" subject

And well, I wasn't expecting it to be so disgusting so early on.  I mean, I've a strong stomach, but there's no need to be showing me stuff like that.  It made me all squeamish, I can tell you - yes, she's given herself a nose piercing.  Yuck!

Well, basically Autumn is 17, she doesn't really fit in and she's pregnant - which isn't exactly great for the lass.  And if she doesn't want to keep it, then living in small-town Pennsylvania isn't the best option that life could have thrown at her.  So she's off to the big city with her cousin Skylar - although I'm really not sure they needed quite such a big suitcase with them.

At times, the film has a bit of a Wizard Of Oz feel to it - a girl and her faithful companion navigating their way in a strange land, meeting various characters who may or may not be in the mood to help them.  Although as the situation continues, tensions escalate somewhat differently than Dorothy experienced (for example, there are no flying monkeys in this film).

I'm not going to go into too much detail, but I am going to call out the section which gives the film its title - it's a ten minute section covering the filling out a sexual health questionnaire with a load of questions around sexual abuse to which the options for answers are (unsurprisingly) never, rarely, sometimes or always.  And it's really so well done, with the impassive delivery of the questions complemented by the increasingly emotional responses as the survey progresses.

It's a heart-breaking watch at times, particularly around the lack of available options, the lack of impartial advice and how even impartial advice can seem very loaded under specific circumstances.  It also gives you an uncomfortable awareness of how the most minor male interaction can be REALLY not what's needed right now, thank you very much and how a lack of options makes people do things they really don't want to do, but what choice have they got?

Sydney Flanigan is exceptional in the lead role - she really conveys the conflicting senses of bewilderment and determination and it's particularly impressive given it's her debut role.  And Talia Ryder offers her able assistance as Skylar - the two of them carry the film and they carry it extremely well.

Tha film-making is beautifully done - mostly focussing on the various character's faces (just reinforcing the huge credit due to the actors) but at times sliding off to reveal subtle contrasting details - the clouds painted on the ceiling of the abortion clinic, the range of treats in the NY deli, the bright lights of the big city.  And the writing is also very strong - both the details of the procedure and the relationship between the girls and how it's affected by the various things that happen to them.  It's not a BIG story, but it doesn't need to be - there are more than enough nuances to keep us going throughout the 100 minute running time, which felt just about right.

As a quick detour, the first bit of the film really reminded me of Mare Of Easttown (also set in small town Pennsylvania) - which if you've not seen is well worth a watch (although quite challenging at times),

Going back to the film, it's not an easy watch, but it actually wasn't as challenging or infuriating as I feared.  Personally I think it manages to stay non-judgemental (although this is obviously a very subjective viewpoint) and although abortion is obviously a major part of the film, it's complemented well by other factors.  So it's a whole-hearted recommendation from me - it's a strong tale which is beautifully told and presented, which marks out the two main stars and the director as ones to watch.

At the time of writing, it's available to watch on Sky or to buy at the usual other locations.

#11 - A film I didn't enjoy watching - but in a good way!
#9 - A film that's so good, it's bad