Some movies can only be seen once. Requiem for a Dream comes to mind. A broad daylight horror show about drug addiction, with images of infected veins etched deep, deep into our brains. Or "A Clockwork Orange," with its whimsical rape and eyelid-peeling torture scenes. Never Rarely Sometimes Always, which garnered major attention at the Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals and was released on VOD on April 3, is quieter in its devastation, more tedious in its cruelty, but still may only be viewed once. That's because this film is about abortion in America (opens in new tab).

The film's stars would not want to describe it that way. Actress Talia Ryder tells Marie Claire, "I'm not sure I'd want to describe it that way. Ryder plays Skylar, a friend of 17-year-old Autumn's cousin who accompanies her on her journey from rural Pennsylvania to New York City to have an abortion."

"If I were to describe this film to someone who knows nothing about it, I would say it is the first film I have ever seen that completely, honestly, and authentically portrays the journey of a heroic woman.

Indeed, the decision to have an abortion is not distressing, but rather a foregone conclusion. So the plot is that of a fantastic and miserable quest, like that of "The Lord of the Rings" or "The Wizard of Oz." With each new disappointment or closed door, anxiety and anger grows. On the one hand, the teenage characters can only nod and blink back tears as they plod along. [On the other hand, the teenage characters have no choice but to nod, blink back tears, and just keep on walking. The film is literally there with these two girls. Long, tight shots of their faces, their hair, their fingers searching for money, their bellies purple and bruised from attempted self-abortions. The camera is always within almost a foot of Ryder and Autumn, played by newcomer Sydney Flanigan, as a hundred quiet acts of kindness pass between them. Flanigan explains, "Skylar is on board to help her cousin without a second thought." 'They are going through this crazy crisis together . And there's a lot of stress. They are a little riled up with each other." Ultimately, "they overcome it together . I think they are only getting closer together."

Director and screenwriter of Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Eliza Hittman, whose previous two feature films, It Felt Like Love (2013) and Beach Rats (2017), have explored the bleak effects of teenage sexual exploration The film depicts the disturbing effects, but he makes several disturbing choices throughout the script. One of these is the decision to place the girls in Pennsylvania, a state not necessarily associated with abortion control laws. Nevertheless, Autumn is not allowed to have an abortion without parental consent, so the girls leave on several buses for New York City.

"I did a lot of research on the topic of abortion tourism and spent time at Planned Parenthood and other clinics trying to better understand where women travel from. Pennsylvania kept coming up," Hitman told Marie Claire. 'I thought it would be interesting to set it in a place that is only three hours from the city.'

Then there is the fact that every male character in the film, from the girls' grocery store boss to their classmates to Autumn's stepfather, is repulsive or predatory. Teenage girls must flee the subway car when a man begins to expose his penis, pull in their cheeks and smile hard when their boss flirts, or reluctantly give out their phone number to put an end to a boy's pushy advances. After the fifth time this happens, viewers may begin to feel nervous, flinch, and tired every time a man appears on screen. The teenage girls, however, do not, and absorb every blow. The film defines the female experience thus. [13][14] "In the process of growing up, many of them learn to successfully fend off unwanted male attention. I wanted to express that in this film," Hitman said, noting that such interactions "always create tension around them throughout the story."

Flanigan, 21, has long been accustomed to these everyday fears. She says, "I think I learned them from a very young age. When you're a kid and boys tease you at school, they tell you that boys like you and that boys are boys. As you get older it gets worse."

The emotional closure comes in a pivotal, excruciating 11-minute scene that gives the film its title. A Planned Parenthood (open in new tab) counselor gently asks a series of psychological screening questions: have you ever let your partner have sex when you didn't want to?" never, rarely, sometimes, always. [Says Flanigan, who is also a singer-songwriter. During the shoot, she listened to Bright Eyes. "I had never acted before, so at first I had no idea what I was doing. ...... There are words, but words alone are limited.

Yes, this is a harsh film, and it will not change the minds of either side. Pro-choice feminists may despair at the legislative cluster migraines that routinely terrorize women in certain states, and anti-choice feminists may be relieved that the process is so difficult. This film is the purest depiction of what it means to seek abortion in 2020 in the United States. In other words, the film is both important and awful.

Still, Flanigan, Ryder, and Hitman hope that people will spend their time in coronavirus quarantine (open in new tab) watching this film. 'Frankly, a lot of people have too much time on their hands right now. I think now is a good time to have these discussions and focus a little more on these issues," Flanigan says. If anything, coronavirus is just one of the current issues in which abortion has been inserted. Some states, like Texas (open in new tab), are using coronavirus to push through their opposition to abortion. That only makes it more urgent.

Rider, chatting in between her abruptly ended fourth grade Zoom class, said, "I hope teenage girls and anyone with a uterus will see this movie and find sanctuary in the story. She has plans to play Minecraft with her friends that night. When I apologized for her terrible last year of high school, she said, "I'm sorry. Because that's what you have to do."

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