Sidney Flanigan, pictured above at the premiere of the film Never Rarely Sometimes Always(2020) in February 2020 at the Berlinale, is the main character of Never Rarely Sometimes Always(2020). Flanigan portrays Autumn, a 17-year-old girl who has discovered she is pregnant and would like to get an abortion. The film follows the journey of Autumn and her friend Skyler, played by Talia Ryder, as they travel to New York City so Autumn can legally get an abortion without parental consent. (Courtesy of Harald Krichel on Creative Commons.)
*Trigger warning: this article contains themes that some readers may find disturbing, including abortion and sexual assault. *
Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020) premiered on Hulu on Jan. 24 of this year. The film follows the story of 17-year-old Autumn, portrayed by Sidney Flanigan, who travels to New York from her hometown with her cousin Skylar, portrayed by Talia Ryder, to get an abortion. Upon hearing about this movie, I expected it to be informative and relevant. I was disappointed.
I’ll give the movie some credit; it centered around important issues, including the right to an abortion. Autumn learns that the terms to get an abortion are very strict in her hometown in Pennsylvania. At the clinic, she is made to watch a film which depicts abortion as murder. Chanting protesters stood outside the New York clinic later in the film, holding crosses and pictures of Jesus. It would be difficult to watch this movie without becoming further educated on the struggles faced by individuals attempting to attain an abortion.
The film also attempts to shed light on abusive relationships. Right off the bat, it’s obvious that Autumn's relationship with her dad is less than favorable. He refuses to compliment her after she performs a song on stage and is revealed to be a heavy drinker. Autumn and Skylar are forced to work for a perverted employer who kisses the girls’ hands seductively at the end of the day and doesn’t let Autumn leave early when she feels sick because he says he would miss her. By the end of the movie, it’s revealed that Autumn has likely been sexually assaulted, but Autumn’s impregnator is never revealed.
Skyler, too, is constantly hit on by older men. During their trip to New York City, a man on the bus persuades Skyler to give him her number. When the pair ask him for help with money later on, he tries to manipulate Skylar into going downtown with him but Skylar refuses. He gets Skylar drunk and forces her to kiss him, even though she is obviously uncomfortable, before giving her the money they need to get home.
While the movie brought attention to relevant subjects, I felt that the film was too poorly done to adequately convey significant messages. Half of this film is composed of the travel to and from places, which consists of Skyler and Autumn taking the bus or walking in silence.
Several parts of the film made me cringe and felt unnecessary. At one point, Autumn’s dad calls Autumn’s pet dog a slut and sexually easy, which was uncomfortable and seemingly failed to contribute to the plot. Most difficult to watch, though, were the moments of awkward interactions the main characters shared. While I’m sure the point was to convey discomfort in their situations, the awkward mood made me wonder if the culprit was purely poor acting skills.
I personally could have looked past most of these issues, but my main problem with the film was Autumn’s character. How often was Autumn nice to Skylar: never, rarely, sometimes or always? Never. I gave Autumn the benefit of the doubt at first, considering what she was going through. As the film progressed, though, Autumn became less bearable. She watches Skylar stick her neck out for Autumn’s sake on more than one occasion without so much as a thank you. Skylar even lets a man essentially assault her just to get money for the ride home, sparing Autumn from having to ask for her mom to come pick her up. The only thanks that Skylar got from Autumn is perpetual rudeness and a “fuck off” in response to an offer to help.
As much hope as I had for this movie, I would unfortunately not recommend it to anyone unless you’re jonesing for 100 minutes of frustration with the main character and a pervasive sense of general discomfort.