The Metrograph hosted A-list celebrities on Monday night to an exclusive screening of Never Rarely Sometimes Always starring Sidney Flanigan and Talia Ryder.
Guests and celebrities gathered at the Metrograph Theater on Ludlow Street to enjoy a screening of Never Rarely Sometimes Always, written and directed by Eliza Hittman, starring Sidney Flanigan and Talia Ryder. The movie encompasses a story about a teenage girl seeking an out-of-state abortion due to parental consent laws in her home state of Pennsylvania.
Autumn, played by Flanigan, resorts to confiding in her cousin Skylar (Talia Ryder) about her situation after being caught vomiting at the supermarket job they both work at. Without much dialogue and enough action, both girls embark on a journey to New York City to seek help from a Planned Parenthood clinic.
While the movie is very upfront about the struggles Autumn faces trying to obtain the proper care, it also touches upon the dangers of healthcare misinformation private clinics can provide to its patients. As an impressionable teenager, Autumn feels trapped and resorts to online articles about self-induced abortions.
Recently, a Florida law passed requiring minors to have parental consent when seeking an abortion at a clinic. This law, like the one in Autumn’s home state, raises dissenting opinions over what it means to have autonomy over women’s bodies – underage or not.
The film is emotionally raw and painfully honest about the silent struggles of the taboo that is abortion. Flanigan portrays Autumn perfectly and without many conversations, manages to invoke the teenager’s struggle as she seeks an unconventional route to express bodily autonomy. It is difficult to watch a film that is relatable to so many women that have fallen victim to abuse or faced with pregnancy termination. Considering the heavy topics the film addresses, what makes it harder is leaving the theater without sympathizing with Autumn and Skylar and containing tears as you witness what either of them will do for each other through the trials and tribulations of their journey.
The Knockturnal: How did you prepare for the role of Autumn and how did you find yourself with similarities to the character?
Sidney Flanigan: It’s my first time acting, so I didn’t have exactly have any conventional process getting into character, but I tried my best because I’m a musician and I feel like being a musician you are used to trying to get yourself to a certain headspace in order to deliver a performance. So I just kind of tried to translate that over to acting and I kind of felt similar to Autumn maybe just in the sense that she’s a musician but she did still feel like a foreign girl. So I just had to try and figure out who she might be by circumstance.
The Knockturnal: What do you want the biggest takeaway of the movie to be?
Sidney Flanigan: I hope that it can give people a genuine look into the experience that many women have and that it really helps de-stigmatize the issue.
The Knockturnal: How would you say the movie has the ability to have an open and honest conversation about the topic of abortion and women’s right to choose?
Eliza Hittman (Director): I think that so many times, you know, documentaries are didactic and focus on information and facts, and yeah, human experiences, but when it comes to abortion, there are so few people who go through this experience that would put their face on screen. I think the film gives a voice to the voiceless and a face to the faceless.
Photo by: Philip Montgomery
Never Rarely Sometimes Always premiers in theaters on March 13th.