When teenager Autumn discovers she is pregnant she must leave Pennsylvania and travel to New York City to have an abortion. Accompanied by her cousin Skylar they must attempt to survive with limited money.
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Never Rarely Sometimes Always is a film that I had seen a lot of positive buzz around, although I didn't actually know very much at all about the plot. It's not really very complex either as a teenager must travel in an attempt to have an abortion. This leads to show how the US has different rules in different states and this was something that was new information. Different states having different number of weeks that they deem it legal or illegal to have an abortion. As well as under a certain age a parent must then give consent.
We are never actually told anything about who the father of the baby was but we do see two very strange men in Autumn's life. Which makes you wonder if it was either of them, if it was neither of those scenarios were good at all. Her mother doesn't even acknowledge her and that is possibly one of the reasons that she will not confide in her.
Although Skylar travels with Autumn and we are supposed to believe that they are close despite not really talking to each other very much. This made me wonder what exactly I missed with this film as the performances were average at best and even below average at times with the lack of any real emotion shown at any point. I mean I would like to think that was partly the point?
It just turned out to be a film that I did not enjoy, I had actually thought about turning it off in all honesty. The reason I didn't was I was hoping to find out more answers relating to the pregnancy. A short run time that felt doubled is never a good sign.
Only one scene I felt was rather hard hitting and the explanation around the title of the film. Never Rarely Sometimes Always were the answers to the questions around her sexual experience and the partners she had, this was quite frankly the only part that I felt something towards. Her answers were certainly not pleasant or nice to some of the questions. Given the nature of this happening before an abortion I would imagine that it is very distressing for anyone in that situation.
I guess you can say that the film had a very real feel to it, maybe too real at times and it felt more like a documentary than a film making myself as the viewer feel uncomfortable. My no means an easy to watch film and in all honesty I wouldn't recommend it to many people, mainly due to the nature of it all. This is in that category of just not for me and how the hype surrounding it made me expect something truly amazing and unique. I was then presented with a very bland and boring journey.
