In her third movie to date writer/director Eliza Hittman has shown a remarkable insight and understanding of teenage angst. Hittman’s sophomore film was Beach Rats a LGBT coming-out story that threw a different perspective on what is inevitably a difficult rite-of-passage for most gay youth. It picked up several Awards including a Best Director Award for Hittman at Sundance .
Never Rarely Sometimes Always (also a Winner at Sundance) is the story of 17 year old Autumn (Sidney Flanagan) a bit of an oddball loner who winds up pregnant in a small rural town in Pennsylvania. Once the local Pregnancy Clinic confirmed her condition, Autumn discovered that according to the State’s Laws she would need parental consent to get an abortion.
Her blue collar family were ultra religiously so there was no way they would grant their permission if Autumn shared her news with them. Also there was no father in sight …… in fact he is never mentioned at all in the whole story ….. so she asks her cousin Skylar (Talia Ryder) to accompany her to New York so she can get an abortion.
Autumn had done a little bit of research so that she at least knew where to go once the bus arrived at the Port Authority, but beyond that she knew little else. She had thought they would do the abortion there and then so they could turn around and hop back on the bus home before her parents had even missed them. However the Clinic told she was further along with the pregnancy than she had been told back home, so the process would have to happen over a few days.
Reluctant to spend any of the small amount of funds they had on a hotel room, the girls slept rough on the streets unaware of the potential danger. When they discovered they would have to spend a 2nd night in the city, a very stubborn Autumn refused the offer of help from the Clinic. Instead persuaded Skylar to phone Jasper (Théodore Pellerin) a young man who had hit on her in the bus journey to NY. He was eager to turn up but neither he or Skylar knew what to expect from each other.
Hittman’s script is word sparse particularly in the case of Autumn who seems to have the weight of world on her but as she never really ever opens up to either Skylar or anyone else, we are left guessing. It’s one of Hittman’s skills as although this is yet another of her-life-in-crises stories she never makes a melodrama about it. Also she has such an understanding of Autumn’s psyche that her moody behavior makes sense even though we may not understand it all.
It is not until the final credits are rolling that you realise what a wee gem this film is. Hittman is helped by the pitch perfect casting, particular with a such an impressive performance by newcomer Flanigan as Autumn.
