Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always

Autumn (Sidney Flanigan) is a quiet teenager. There is something about her that is different from her peers. There is something weighing on her mind and it is not long before we learn that she is pregnant. She is 17 and pregnant. Director-Writer, Eliza Hittman, creates a powerful character-study of two young women and the dangers of being a teenage girl in America.


The plot surrounds two teenage girls struggling in New York when one is pregnant and they have to travel there to get an abortion. Hittman focuses on the details and doesn't make this an easy watch. She shows these girls as to how American sees them, as prey. This is done with the grocery store manager kissing female employee's hands and many more examples that demonstrate a field of toxic masculinity.


Autumn convinces her cousin Skylar to travel with her to New York after learning that Pennsylvania requires parental consent for an abortion. They make the journey with very little money. The decisions made in the film feel so realistic and in-the-moment. Hittman succeeds in her use of realism to tell this story. The use of silence makes it even more powerful.


The artistry elevates the characters. It feels like a film about young people and the youth. There is never a moment where you feel like an adult wrote this and thinks this is what a teenager would say. Hittman has so much compassion for her two characters as they push through each obstacle the world sends their way.