NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS – Rated PG-13 – 1 hr. 41 mins.

This review is brought to you by Kathy Kaiser

NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS – Rated PG-13 – 1 hr. 41 mins.

Directed & Written by Eliza Hittman

Starring:  Sidney Flanigan, Talia Ryder, Theodore Pellerin, Sharon Von Etten and Ryan Eggold

When you’re seventeen, living in rural Pennsylvania, and find yourself faced with an unplanned pregnancy, what do you do?  This is the premise of Focus Features’ latest dramatic release, hitting via streaming services today April 3^rd, in the wake of all the movie theaters being closed, due to COVID-19.

Written & Directed by Eliza Hittman, and the Winner of the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award at Sundance this year, NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS takes you into the life of Autumn (Sidney Flanigan), as she tries to navigate her unplanned teen pregnancy, without alerting anyone in her immediate family.  With the support and assistance of her BFF, and cousin Skylar (Talia Ryder), the girls manage to secure the funding Amber needs, as they head off to New York City to obtain Autumn an abortion, without the need for parental consent…

But, as the girls soon find, heading from their rural lives into the big city produces quite a few challenges that they, nor their budget, are totally prepared for…

I give NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS a rating of CATCH THIS FILM ON DIGITAL TODAY!

I was definitely blown away by how real this film feels, as it faces the emotions and tribulations of teenage pregnancy, and abortion head on.  I was so impressed by Sidney Flanagan’s performance, as she conveys a ton of emotion without too much dialogue, throughout this entire film.  Talia Ryder is also very good playing friend, support system, and funding source, to help Amber with “the issue at hand”.

And the way Hittman handled the abortion clinic issues, both in Pennsylvania and New York City, although rather prophetic in nature, did also manage to come across as factual, without lingering too long in any direction, making this film neither political or biased in any way.  I also thought the casting throughout of the Abortion clinic professionals was top notch too, as they weren’t cast or portrayed as anything but professional and concerned individuals, for the welfare of their patients.

Let’s face it, being a teenager and pregnant is a scary situation, and even though NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS doesn’t necessarily make a statement against abortion, it does manage to convey that no matter what is decided, there are people that are there to help you with your choice ~ while sharing your options ~ every step of the way.