Post by klep on Oct 23, 2017 7:19:38 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 10/23: Obvious Child
FAST FEATURE WEEK!
Abortion is not a topic that our culture really likes to address openly. It gets mentioned now and again, and maybe you see a scene involving protesters at a clinic, but it's very rare to see someone actually go through with an abortion on-screen. And that's understandable. Even setting aside the controversy it creates, it's not really a pleasant experience and it's intensely personal in a way people who haven't had to make that decision probably can never truly understand.
But abortions do happen and they are a significant event in the lives of the women who undergo them, so it's only fitting that we have films which deal with them seriously. And there have been some in recent years. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days in 2007 dealt with the harrowing experience of acquiring an abortion when they aren't legal, and 2016's Grandma uses a teenager's need for an abortion as part of a family drama involving three generations of women.
Obvious Child goes a different route, using its abortion as the core of a weird rom-com about what happens when Mr. Right Now may also be Mr. Right.
Jenny Slate plays Donna, a budding stand-up comedian introduced performing a raunchy, deeply personal set. Her boyfriend uses it as an excuse to dump her, but really he's just a cheating asshole. Also she loses her job. In her despair, Donna hooks up with a random dude a few nights later and oops! - gets pregnant.
The film then follows Donna's struggle to rebuild her life as she prepares for the abortion she's definitely having. But her supposed one-night-stand Max (Jake Lacy) keeps popping into her life, and further complicating matters she actually likes him. Wrestling with the question of if, how, and when to tell him. What does she owe to the putative child of this embryo she will not be bringing to term? How does that change if she wants a relationship with him? Her struggle nearly destroys this budding relationship, and she finally tells him in the worst - but truest to herself - way possible: in her standup. He walks out, and she thinks that's that. But in a sweet finish, we find out Max is actually a pretty good guy, as he shows up the next morning bearing flowers and offering to take her to the clinic for support.
What's particularly moving and resonant is that Donna gets the courage to finally reveal her pregnancy and impending abortion to the world after a discussion with her mother. Throughout the film Donna's mother has been an overbearing presence, trying to push Donna to plan her life better and criticizing her life choices. But when a fearful and tearful Donna tells her mom (Polly Draper) what's going on, her mom is not only supportive but reveals the abortion in her own past.
Between her mom's and Max's support Donna finds the peace with her abortion - or at least with talking about it - she was struggling to find. The lesson is that an abortion is not something to be ashamed of. It doesn't represent a failure on the part of the woman. Unplanned pregnancies can happen to the most prepared of people, and if you're not ready to be a parent an abortion is a perfectly valid option.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 10/30: A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Join us next week for this Spielberg-Kubrick collaboration which explores the nature of humanity and Kubrick's vision of the future. I haven't seen this one yet, so I'm quite excited to see how these two great filmmakers' sensibilities are brought together. A.I. Artificial Intelligence is available for rent on Amazon Video, though it is not free for Prime members.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 10/19: Blade Runner 2049
This week's podcast concludes with discussion of Blade Runner 2049 and what has changed about this world since its inception all those years ago. Join us Wednesday for a thread about Denis Villeneuve's worthy successor to Ridley Scott's classic. Blade Runner 2049 is still in theaters.
FAST FEATURE WEEK!
Abortion is not a topic that our culture really likes to address openly. It gets mentioned now and again, and maybe you see a scene involving protesters at a clinic, but it's very rare to see someone actually go through with an abortion on-screen. And that's understandable. Even setting aside the controversy it creates, it's not really a pleasant experience and it's intensely personal in a way people who haven't had to make that decision probably can never truly understand.
But abortions do happen and they are a significant event in the lives of the women who undergo them, so it's only fitting that we have films which deal with them seriously. And there have been some in recent years. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days in 2007 dealt with the harrowing experience of acquiring an abortion when they aren't legal, and 2016's Grandma uses a teenager's need for an abortion as part of a family drama involving three generations of women.
Obvious Child goes a different route, using its abortion as the core of a weird rom-com about what happens when Mr. Right Now may also be Mr. Right.
Jenny Slate plays Donna, a budding stand-up comedian introduced performing a raunchy, deeply personal set. Her boyfriend uses it as an excuse to dump her, but really he's just a cheating asshole. Also she loses her job. In her despair, Donna hooks up with a random dude a few nights later and oops! - gets pregnant.
The film then follows Donna's struggle to rebuild her life as she prepares for the abortion she's definitely having. But her supposed one-night-stand Max (Jake Lacy) keeps popping into her life, and further complicating matters she actually likes him. Wrestling with the question of if, how, and when to tell him. What does she owe to the putative child of this embryo she will not be bringing to term? How does that change if she wants a relationship with him? Her struggle nearly destroys this budding relationship, and she finally tells him in the worst - but truest to herself - way possible: in her standup. He walks out, and she thinks that's that. But in a sweet finish, we find out Max is actually a pretty good guy, as he shows up the next morning bearing flowers and offering to take her to the clinic for support.
What's particularly moving and resonant is that Donna gets the courage to finally reveal her pregnancy and impending abortion to the world after a discussion with her mother. Throughout the film Donna's mother has been an overbearing presence, trying to push Donna to plan her life better and criticizing her life choices. But when a fearful and tearful Donna tells her mom (Polly Draper) what's going on, her mom is not only supportive but reveals the abortion in her own past.
Between her mom's and Max's support Donna finds the peace with her abortion - or at least with talking about it - she was struggling to find. The lesson is that an abortion is not something to be ashamed of. It doesn't represent a failure on the part of the woman. Unplanned pregnancies can happen to the most prepared of people, and if you're not ready to be a parent an abortion is a perfectly valid option.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 10/30: A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Join us next week for this Spielberg-Kubrick collaboration which explores the nature of humanity and Kubrick's vision of the future. I haven't seen this one yet, so I'm quite excited to see how these two great filmmakers' sensibilities are brought together. A.I. Artificial Intelligence is available for rent on Amazon Video, though it is not free for Prime members.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 10/19: Blade Runner 2049
This week's podcast concludes with discussion of Blade Runner 2049 and what has changed about this world since its inception all those years ago. Join us Wednesday for a thread about Denis Villeneuve's worthy successor to Ridley Scott's classic. Blade Runner 2049 is still in theaters.