At the very least, this is certainly timely. Odd then that this is set in 1968. Goes to show just how far the USA has moved forward on this most emotive of subjects - abortion. Needless to say it shouldn't actually be timely by now, yet here we, still, are.
After a pregnancy is understood by male doctors everywhere that promises to kill her if she takes it to term, Joy (Banks) goes in search of an illegal abortionist and finds Jane. The name is the collective term for a group of women led by Sigourney Weaver, who support those women in need at potentially the most devastating time of their lives.
I wouldn't go so far as to say I don't really understand the finer points of the characters by making the excuse that I am just a man and couldn't expect to understand the terrible moments these women had to endure, but I think it goes some way towards the feeling that the film should have more...something.
At two hours, this doesn't feel like it's in a hurry, giving this story the respect it deserves, of course, but in a time of revolution, civil rights and the freedom of women, it comes across as a little lacklustre. I expected more vitriol, more passion. Just more than the message and I don't think that was conveyed well enough here to make me care for the characters, despite Banks' and Weaver's excellent delivery.
It's a bonafide eye-opener for the time and carefully considered, just maybe too carefully. As a social comment, this is a shocking indictment of how some people are still forced to live their lives today in what is considered the greatest country in the world.
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