Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Sidney Flanigan and Talia Ryder in Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Eliza Hittman's Never Rarely Sometimes Always concerns a pregnant teen traveling from her hometown in rural Pennsylvania to New York City to get an abortion. Autumn (Sidney Flanigan), the young woman in distress, is accompanied on her agonizingly distended quest by her cousin and pal, Skylar (Talia Ryder), and the supportive banter between the two makes up much of the film. Both actresses are making their feature debut. It is to Ms. Hittman's great credit that neither performance seems amateurish or actorly. 

The prime fault of the picture is that it is overly polemical. I am sympathetic with Ms. Hittman's point of view regarding abortion, but still feel that she has stacked the deck. Almost all of the men in the film are creeps and the Rust Belt town where Autumn lives is portrayed as a dead end; full of venal Trump lovers.

Still, I was ultimately won over by Ms. Hittman's ability to show her feelings towards her characters and their milieu rather than having her screenplay spell it out in block letters. The cinematography by Helene Louvert, who also lensed Happy as Lazzaro and Pina, is an asset whether showing us a depressed and dilapidated Pennsylvania countryside or conveying the vulnerability of two young women in the big city. Never Rarely Sometimes Always sometimes feels like a chore to sit through, but has many redeeming moments. I won't soon forget Ms. Flanigan struggling through a high school talent show or gamely singing "Don't Let the Sun See You Crying" in a karaoke bar. Never Rarely Sometimes Always has a second rate screenplay, but is redeemed by some first rate filmmaking.