Nunca, Raramente, Às Vezes, Sempre

A touching, heartbreaking & bracingly relevant indie that beats at its loudest during the quieter moments in between, Never Rarely Sometimes Always is a small-scale but powerfully resonant drama that tackles its difficult subject matter with prudence & without prejudice, and is wonderfully manoeuvred by the poignant performances from its young ladies.

Written & directed by Eliza Hittman, the premise is a simple one but the emotions it elicits are raw & evocative. The plot is lean, focused & constantly on the move, and Hittman places complete trust in her actors to guide her story to its destination. The characters are sketched with care & compassion, their predicament is firmly rooted in reality, and they are beautifully rendered by the cast.

Sidney Flanigan plays the teenage protagonist seeking medical help in the wake of an unintended pregnancy and the subtleness with which she brings her character's inner turmoil to surface is simply astounding, even more so on realising that it's her acting debut. Talia Ryder deserves a mention too, chipping in with a strong support that's just as impressive if not more as her character is challenged in her own ways.

Overall, Never Rarely Sometimes Always is a sincere, heartfelt & genuinely moving indie drama that benefits from Hittman's composed direction & sensible writing, and is further elevated by emotionally engrossing inputs from both Flanigan & Ryder. The documentary-like approach, silent camerawork & relaxed pace serve as necessities to this performance-driven story while quality work from its cast makes it all the more effective & worthwhile.

This film tells a teenage girl having to go through a very difficult time of her life, with only the support of her cousin. The scene which features the title of this film is very effective and emotional. The latter part of the film is pretty slow, but heart wrenching.

The name Eliza Hittman meant nothing to me when I saw it in the credits for this movie, but then the Internet reminded me that she also directed "Beach Rats," one of the undiscovered gems of 2017. Now with "Never Rarely Sometimes Always," Hittman has once again proven herself to be one of the most adept filmmakers at tackling the perilous transition from teenager to adult, whether in boys or girls.

"Never Rarely Sometimes Always" resembles another exceptional abortion film, "4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days," though this film doesn't exist in the same menacing environment as that other one. Still, the prospects for the young girl in Hittman's film are no less bleak. For a long time, the film seems to be about the logistics of obtaining an abortion and the desperate lengths a young pregnant woman will go to to have one. But a scene, or should I say THE scene, set in an abortion clinic that gives the film its title, reveals that this film isn't really about abortion as much as it's about sexual abuse and predation. Pregnant or not, abortion or not, this young woman has already been damaged many times before the movie even starts, and it's likely, the film implies, that she'll be damaged again.

Hittman is able to get the most amazing performances out of young and inexperienced actors. In "Beach Rats," she directed Harris Dickinson to an award worthy performance, and she does the same here for Sidney Flanigan, playing an inarticulate and frequently silent young woman whose silence nevertheless speaks volumes.

Grade: A

I was really impressed by this film. The film making and script worked together so flawlessly to create a story that is so real and interesting and terrifying all at the same time.

The movie is slow but not in a bad way. It takes you along with these characters and makes you almost feel like you are the third person with them on this journey.

I like the stance that the film took with the subject. It didn't give any room for people to have opinions, it just happened. It almost served as an information film about the the struggles and impact that a woman can go though for this procedure in a way that was so 'fly on the wall'. It was like watching 3 days of someone's life.

I think it also shown how difficult it can be to just be a woman in the world and how scary it can be. It didn't do it with big scenes that caused an uproar, it did it with quiet scenes that were just accepted and that makes it even scarier.

I think this film was really well done and really well crafted, the acting was great too. It was one of the indie films that makes you really excited for the world of indie movies.

Autumn Callahan (Sidney Flanigan) is an outsider at school. She's also pregnant. Abortions are restricted in her small town Pennsylvania home and she faces many hurdles. She tells her cousin Skylar (Talia Ryder). They steal money from their work and head off to New York City.

This is a sincere pro-choice indie presenting a realistic portrait of a teen girl on her abortion journey. It's not the most dramatic story. The acting is quiet. The drama is muted. I thought the movie may do something with the boy, but it ends up being understated. I certainly understand the simplicity of the story to highlight this issue-centered story. The girls are doing nice work. This is effective for an audience of a certain leaning.