'Carol' writer Phyllis Nagy highlights a group of women who fought to provide safe abortions, while trying to keep much of the controversy surrounding it off-screen.
There's a lot of cigarettes in "Call Jane," a detail, along with flip bob hairstyles and polyester pantsuits, that demonstrates director Phyllis Nagy's commitment to the late '60s period, even as it shows that the film is not trying to tell women what to do with their bodies. Inspired by true events, this Sundance-blessed abortion drama takes place more than 50 years ago, but it couldn't be more timely today, as the Supreme Court considers several cases with the potential to roll back the liberties granted by Roe v. Wade. Set in 1968, half a decade before that decision, the film tells the story of a Chicago-based network of activists calling themselves the Jane Collective, an underground group of women committed to helping other women find a safe way to have illegal abortions. As the motto goes, "You've come a long way, baby."
Who were the Janes? Well, there's Virginia, a front-line feminist who stopped marching to make a real difference. Her character is loosely based on Jane founder Heather Booth, reimagined by co-writers Hayley Schore and Roshan Sethi. And there's Gwen, a Black Power advocate who argues her doctor is charging low-income women too much to pay for the procedure. There's even a nun named Sister Mike, who answers the phones and serves spaghetti to recovering patients.
Considering that none of its members are actually named Jane, the group seems especially suited for a thrilling, you know, "I am Spartacus" finale where everyone stands in solidarity when one of their ranks is threatened. Nagy, who wrote the lesbian drama "Carol" for director Todd Haynes, isn't trying anything as manipulative as that. But it's also not being entirely true to the underlying situation, stripping "Call Jane" of much of the conflict that would have made it dramatically interesting: The cops, doctors, husbands, and other bad guys who might have broken up the organization are absent or one-dimensional. .
Director: Phyllis Nagy
Writers: Hayley Schore, Roshan Sethi
Stars: Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver, Chris Messina
The film primarily centers on Joy (Elizabeth Banks), a model housewife in the "Bewitched" mold whose husband, defense attorney Will (Chris Messina), has just become a partner. The couple have a teenage daughter, Charlotte (Grace Edwards), and another son on the way. And then comes the news that Joy has a heart condition that puts her at a 50/50 chance of dying during childbirth. The doctor is clear: she “cannot be pregnant”. Joy considers throwing herself down the stairs. She visits an illicit abortion clinic but chickens out. And then she sees the flyer: she calls Jane. So she does.
Early in the film, Joy sees Yippies protesting the establishment outside a downtown hotel and says to her husband, "You can feel a changing current." It's safe to say that she's about to get a little carried away. Over the course of the next two hours, in what could have been a stronger miniseries, Joy undergoes a life-saving abortion and ends up not only joining the Jane Collective, but also learning how to perform the procedure so that women no longer have to trust. at her unskilled male doctor.
That transformation, from a docile conservative to an active crusader for women's reproductive rights, marks a great arc of character. She was smart of the filmmakers to start with an apolitical outsider and follow her through a belated feminist awakening, rather than preach to the more liberal members of the audience. Produced by Robbie Brenner ("Dallas Buyers Club") and more than two dozen others, "Call Jane" shares the underpinnings of that sometimes amazing true story of that movie, and once again details the roundabout methods Americans must use to get the medical care they need. . But it lacks the same freewheeling thrill.
After Joy's procedure, Virginia calls to see how she's doing and then asks her for a favor: they need someone to pick up a young woman in Joy's neighborhood. Virginia is the kind of person who doesn't take no for an answer, and Weaver sells her caring and charisma 100%. Virginia may have started Jane with certain ideals, but she is not immune to change, listening to the suggestions of others. Meanwhile, accompanying a single girl, Joy puts her judgment aside and begins to acknowledge the endless reasons someone might seek an abortion.
Watch Call Jane 2022 Movie Trailer
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