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[doomonfilm]

Review : Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Youth-driven stories are nothing new to American cinema, but the scale of content often tips towards the lighter side of things.  Every once in a blue moon, though, we are given an honest look at the teenage condition that does not sugar coat or shield us from the darker sides of that experience.  Teen pregnancy is a problem that all generations tend to face, and while film is a medium that provides us an ability to look at these issues through a different lens, we are often beset with the machinations of Hollywood in the form of tropes and undercutting quips.  For Never Rarely Sometimes Always, we are given a stripped down, uncut and very real look at the pressures a pregnant teenage would face, and the infinitely challenging choice between life or the termination of it.

Teenage outside Autumn Callahan (Sidney Flanigan), after an extended bout with sickness, begins to suspect that she may be pregnant.  After visiting a crisis pregnancy center and taking a test, her fears are confirmed.  Autumn hides the secret from her mother (Sharon Van Etten) and her stepfather Ted (Ryan Eggold) while attempting to live as normal a life as she can, but after failed attempts at a miscarriage, she eventually confides in her cousin and closest confidant Skylar (Talia Ryder).  With the walls closing in on Autumn, and abortion not being a legal option in Pennsylvania, the duo makes plans to head to New York in hopes of finding an option to terminate Autumn’s pregnancy.

The mental anguish and actual stress that comes with an unplanned teenage pregnancy is laid out in a very straight-forward manner, without the extra flourish that normally pairs with the situation in other films.  While there are family troubles and rude interactions from peers in Autumn’s world, not to mention the burden of school and a part time job, the lion’s share of the attention is devoted to Autumn’s personal moments, the support of Skylar, and the incredibly difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy.  Due to this focus on the toughest moments in Autumn’s life, and her contemplative silence that accompanies these moments, the viewer is not given the normal outlets and humorous asides that ease their experience.  It is painfully obvious that Autumn has massive regrets from her moment of discovery to the completion of the termination, but you can also see her weigh these regrets against the reality of bringing a new life into her already tough situation, and with all of the cards out on the table her decisions are presented without judgement.

It is this lack of judgmental gaze that really allows the film the work.  There are no self-righteous speeches delivered to Autumn, and outside of the introductory moments that set up Autumn’s place in the world, there are no jokes made at her expense by her peers.  Her boss is much more worried about having cute teenagers working registers than whatever the cause of Autumn’s sickness is, and customers aren’t used in comparison or contrast to examine Autumn’s so-called “bad decisions”.  Autumn is the eye of this storm, and the film makes sure that we know this, understand this, and carry the weight of her life with her, which deepens the impact of the viewing experience.

The color grading is warm and nostalgic, which makes the story inviting rather than trying to set a somber or depressing tone.  This look really allows the viewer to come in with an open mind and an emotional clean slate.  The dialogue is minimal and true to life, with sanctimonious monologues and witty banter moved to the side for efficient talk between characters that makes their relationships instantly understandable.  The warmness also recedes as the location switches to New York, making things much more direct and to the point, and enhancing the transactional interactions on both Autumn and Skylar’s side.  The film is well-cast, with the young leads more than stepping up to the plate in terms of handling the ups and downs of such an emotionally taxing narrative.

Sidney Flanigan is powerfully subtle in her ability to emote deep, dark realms of thought simply through a distant stare of a contemplative gaze, very much embodying the way that we often hide life-changing secrets from those who can help and support us.  Talia Ryder brings a cautious optimism to her performance... she is willing to do whatever it takes to assist her cousin, but not so much that she is blind to or ignorant of potential dangerous people and situations.  Théodore Pellerin inhabits the role of a hormone-driven teenager perfectly, presenting a paper-thin casual guise that hides a clear and present attraction to Ryder’s portrayal of Skylar, and fueling a tension that runs alternative to the natural tension found in Flanigan’s journey as Autumn.  This core group handles a vast majority of the acting work, with performances by Ryan Egoold, Sharon Van Etten and a group of supporting actors filling out the minimalist cast.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always is a powerful watch, which is an impressive feat considering it doesn’t way heavily on gimmicks and tropes.  It really and truly works best in its quiet, observational manner, as this space that is generally taken up by narrative noise remains vacant, which in turn almost forces the viewer to fill in that space with their own thoughts, reflections and worries.