Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020)

By: Mike Ward on Friday, April 03

PG-13 Running Time: 101 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

Gripping, emotional, and brilliantly written and performed, Never Rarely Sometimes Always is one of the best films of 2020.
Sidney Flanigan gives a remarkable debut performance; one you simply cannot erase from your memory.
Writer/director Eliza Hittman drills to the essence of the pain, anguish, fear, and vulnerability of not just a girl faced with the possibility of needing an abortion, but of the constant gaze young women find themselves under every single day.

NO

The subject of abortion is in and of itself a trigger for so many. As the film explores a teenage girl attempting to find a safe path to obtaining one, Never Rarely Sometimes Always may be difficult for viewers to watch.
The film is frank and intentional, raw and feels real - this is not a glossy Hollywood-style production. There are no meandering subplots. You’re in the moment with Autumn from the opening moments to the end credits.
There are some people who simply will reject the premise of this movie because they simply disagree with how it’s framed. That is respected; however, Autumn’s story has necessity and importance and deserves to be heard.

OUR REVIEW

An irony of the exceptional new drama, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, arriving on VOD only a couple of weeks after an interrupted theatrical release because of the COVID-19 outbreak, is that so much of Eliza Hittman’s new film deals with a young woman’s need to be outside and away from home. Whether speaking in metaphor, or through literal examples of leaving home for a few days to take care of a very difficult situation, Hittman’s film looks at how people maneuver and travel around others, both emotionally and physically.

Her third film, following gritty and raw teen-focused dramas It Felt Like Love, and Beach Rats, focuses on 17-year-old Autumn (Sidney Flanigan, in her feature film debut), who has a nice mother (Sharon Van Etten), step-siblings, an uncouth, distant stepfather (Ryan Eggold), and works with her best friend, Skylar (Talia Ryder) - also her cousin - at a local grocery store.

Early on, we see she is a talented singer, withstanding a heckler during a high school talent show and finishing with an amplified voice. Inner resolve for Autumn is never in question. Yet, something holds her back. While she seems to be a quiet, guarded, and somewhat subdued soul, personality-wise, Autumn is also pregnant and no one knows her secret.

Slipping away from work and home for an afternoon, she visits a clinic she believes to be supportive of young mothers-to-be in crisis. Ultimately, she learns that the facility tries to steer women away from being “abortion-minded.” The social worker presents options that seem out of alignment with Autumn’s instincts, including the showing of an outdated video which attempts to convince women to carry every baby to term.

Autumn eventually confides in Skylar and together they decide to leave their more restrictive Pennsylvania home and head to a more liberal New York City. Using the deception of sleeping over at each other’s homes, Autumn and Skyler board a train (with a scant amount of funds lifted from the grocery store), to resolve Autumn’s unintended pregnancy.

The premise of the film is going to be halting for some viewers. Abortion is never easy to discuss, harder to debate, and polarizes people to opposite corners in most conversations on the topic. It is as inflexible a political issue as we have in this country; even more reason why making a movie like Never Rarely Sometimes Always feels so profoundly brave and important right now.

Hittman’s film, a Sundance Film Festival and Berlin Film Festival Award winner earlier this year, has been honored for its use of neorealism, with both Flanigan and Ryder giving convincing, haunting performances. Flanigan, in particular, offers a performance wise beyond her years.

When she sits down with a case manager in a New York City clinic, played by real-life clinician Kelly Campbell, the film feels authentic, almost documentary-like. As Autumn is carefully guided through an escalating series of deeply personal questions, she is offered one of four words to use in her response: “Never,” “Rarely,” “Sometimes,” or “Always,”

Autumn has a much more complex story than we realize. Hittman’s screenplay is stunning in its precision. In that sequence with the clinician, not only do we understand why Autumn is in New York City, but we also have a deeper understanding why this is necessary for her. Whether you agree or not with the decisions being made in the story, one cannot help but feel empathy for Autumn. Flanigan’s performance is raw, honest, and truly unforgettable.

Refusing to gloss over what’s in front of us, Hittman’s film leaves an indelible impression. Throughout the film, we see Autumn and Skylar always on guard, carrying a sense of awareness that their feminine youthfulness may become a liability with the varying assortment of men they come across and the respect, or lack thereof, they are shown.

We are squarely placed in the heart of the story from the opening moment to the very last. This is an intense film, but a compassionate one. At times, the journey feels fraught with peril and yet, Autumn’s cautiousness never gets in the way of the confidence and strength in her choice and determination to fight for that choice.

CAST & CREW

Starring: Sidney Flanigan, Talia Ryder, Théodore Pellerin, Sharon Van Etten, Ryan Eggold, Kelly Chapman, Kim Rios Lin, Drew Seltzer.

Director: Eliza Hittman
Written by: Eliza Hittman
Release Date: March 13, 2020
Focus Features

Gripping, emotional, and brilliantly written and performed, Never Rarely Sometimes Always is one of the best films of 2020.

Sidney Flanigan gives a remarkable debut performance; one you simply cannot erase from your memory.

Writer/director Eliza Hittman drills to the essence of the pain, anguish, fear, and vulnerability of not just a girl faced with the possibility of needing an abortion, but of the constant gaze young women find themselves under every single day.

The subject of abortion is in and of itself a trigger for so many. As the film explores a teenage girl attempting to find a safe path to obtaining one, Never Rarely Sometimes Always may be difficult for viewers to watch.

The film is frank and intentional, raw and feels real - this is not a glossy Hollywood-style production. There are no meandering subplots. You’re in the moment with Autumn from the opening moments to the end credits.

There are some people who simply will reject the premise of this movie because they simply disagree with how it’s framed. That is respected; however, Autumn’s story has necessity and importance and deserves to be heard.