Despite taking place several decades ago, the theme on abortion is timely and takes a mostly neutral and observational perspective. It certainly leans pro choice in its message by the end but offers many plausible and sympathetic scenarios while not straying into preachy territory. If it had remained completely neutral through the end, I feel it would have been a near masterpiece, but we are missing greater consequences in favor of the successful progression and more insight into debate could have driven the point home harder. Other social commentary on race and gender roles are touched on but never fully addressed. The procedure scenes themselves were done so well that it invokes anxiety involving medical tools or needles, and it did so without showing anything remotely graphic.Elizabeth Banks gave a terrifically real performance, especially when she was in the chair on both ends. The supporting cast cannot be ignored either, especially the legendary Sigourney Weaver who is always a welcome presence. Delicate, old-fashioned filmmaking also delivered a more engrossing experience with a slow pace and quiet execution of dialogue driven drama with nearly no musical score to distract. This allowed for a more earned emotional appeal as the audience can digest their own feelings on the matter instead of being manipulated into it.
