'Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always': Telling the Untold Story
A stunning depiction of the harsh truths of abortion today, the movie is, simply put, a piece of art. It accomplishes what no other movie I have seen has done. It tells the untold story of one girl trying to navigate the cruel shame surrounding abortion of modern society. The slightly grainy image, with blurred and mixed colors, and a multitude of uncomfortably close shots places you right in the smallest and most insane snippets of one teenage girl’s life. It is a moment in a girl’s life that otherwise would never have been heard. Never seen. Never talked about. You will feel oddly connected to Autumn, the main character, an adolescent girl growing up in rural Pennsylvania. As a woman growing up in today’s society, I understood her fear. Her anger with the fact that her body wasn’t always her own. Her annoyance in the unfair structures society has harshly created. The tension she felt every time she left her home. The shame she felt surrounding sex and her body. Autumn and I, though, are similar in only one way: we are both women.
The movie follows Autumn’s stress-inducing journey from her town in Pennsylvania to New York in an attempt to find access to safe abortion without the knowledge of her parents. She is accompanied by her cousin as she departs on a journey to find freedom both physically and mentally. As she fights to find a clinic that will safely and cheaply aid her in her abortion, light is shown on many of the problems women face today. And these problems are displayed in silence.
Silence in the way that throughout the entire movie, the spoken word was scarce. But, even despite the lack of dialogue, the movie spoke volumes. Feelings and emotions were shown with images, expressions, beautiful scenes, and highly impactful music, rather than just speaking. Which, in my opinion, is the perfect way to do it. As a teenager, we can’t often express how we feel without quickly getting shut down by those who imagine they know more than us. Our voices are constantly diminished, and sometimes we are so afraid that we don’t even try to speak up. The film shows the life of a teenage girl perfectly. Without filters, without the fantasy, without the expectations. Autumn is not perfect. Not in any way, but that is completely fine. It goes against everything the media expresses the teenage years to be. And it is incredible. Nowadays, the years we spend in high school are expressed as virtually perfect. With sex and parties and fun, the truth is never really shown. We see ourselves on TV every day, but only the polished and glowing parts. A “fantasy” version of our lives. This movie, on the other hand, shows the perfect expression of the angst, emotional distress, and burdens that tinge our lives. It doesn’t make everything seem great. It discusses body image problems, unhealthy relationships and abuse, pain, loneliness, and so much more.
Not only did the movie display a true view into an adolescent girl’s life, but it also expresses the tension every woman feels in modern-day society. In cities and rural towns both, there is the sense that around every corner, you will be taken advantage of. This is something that has been relentlessly burned into the mind of every young girl. Filling them with fear. Fear that is not particularly misplaced. Fear of going out at night alone. Fear of revealing too much of our body. Fear of just being alive in a world dominated by men. This fear is the result of countless years of women being suppressed and abused. The film tells about that fear. Through Autumn’s stressful journey to New York, the only solace and safety she finds are in her cousin and the Planned Parenthood counselor. It tells not just about the struggle of getting an abortion, but also the struggle of being a woman in general.
At its core, this movie was the perfect beginning to a conversation we should have been having for years. A conversation about abortion, a conversion about the pressure on teenage girls, a conversation about abuse, and a conversation about the stigma surrounding sex. All these things that right now, are hidden and silent. We need to be talking about these things. About the millions of women who face sexual assault and are too scared to speak up about it. Of the women forced to carry a pregnancy to term against their will. Of these rural towns that truly exist, and of these girls that also exist.
Although this movie is far from a documentary, it is not at all a fantasy. These things are happening everywhere. Many of the most frightening parts of the movie were based on true experiences. True stories. Never Rarely Sometimes Always, written and directed by Eliza Hittman, is a movie that needs to be seen. A movie that needs to be talked about. And a movie that needs to be known.
