“Unplanned” — a Canadian’s off-the-cuff review

Since Ottawa might only get a one-week screening of “Unplanned,” the autobiographical story of former Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson, I figured I better show up. I caught a 1:45pm showing today after rock climbing, expecting that on a Wednesday it would be relatively empty. It was close to sold out. A glance at the ticket booth told me the 7:45pm showing was also close to sold out. I asked some of the other moviegoers — we were all surprised by the turnout. I ended up in the second row sandwiched between a little old lady (also alone) and a half-deaf old man (whose laugh was as loud as mine, and just as ill-timed).

Is “Unplanned” a good movie? I would say yes. I’d call it more of a film than a movie, as it is a relatively dry telling of Abby Johnson’s story and doesn’t attempt to add any drama or flourish the way a typical Hollywood dramatization does. It was well done. I wouldn’t say it is in the category of the best-of-the-best that Hollywood offers, but on a $6 million budget (Endgame was $220 million) that can hardly be surprising. I think it is good enough to show in theatres and it didn’t make me embarrassed to be pro-life, as a film with too much sap and poor script writing would. (I was still a wee bit embarrassed by the cheesy portrayal of devoted believers, but let’s face it — we really are that lame.)

The story itself is extremely important and engaging. It wasn’t overly graphic, by any stretch of the imagination. There was some blood, a couple ultrasounds, and one small fetus. It did not vilify abortion activists, but showed them to be sincere and goodhearted. It did take some very pronounced jabs at corporate healthcare, with Planned Parenthood as a figurehead. The evils of big money corporations are hardly news, nor are jabs at corporate healthcare worthy of censorship.

Script was good, there were no points where the dialogue made me wince. It was well edited, nothing dragged, although I believe the best part of the film was the second half. This could be because of the choice to handle time in a non-chronological fashion. I’m not sure that choice worked for them 100% of the time. It was frustrating and slightly disjointed in the beginning. Timeline was confusing. The acting was decent, some of it was quite good.

One thing that Christian films struggle with is a tendency for actors to beam what I call “the glowy God eyes” in every scene. I think this is a well-intended acting error derived from a desire to be salt and light in the world. It manifests in real life as well as on the big screen. My old acting instructors would call it ‘being in your head,’ ‘projecting,’ or ‘indicating.’ It’s slightly dissociative. Sometimes the glow is an authentic spiritual phenomenon, but it is helped by a Christian discomfort with negativity that has yet to be fully overcome in our artists. We need to deal with this.

Speaking of disassociation, I may write more on the connection between this psychological phenomenon and the prevalence of abortion. More than once Abby Johnson’s narration spoke of “locking things away” in dark corners of her soul, hunkering down and forgetting, etc. This is a very important piece of the conversation. It is very difficult for any human to face pain.  I could see many women feeling liberated from their silence by this film, if they have had an abortion — but those who rely heavily on disassociation could find themselves triggered into needing to face their memories and what they feel. Our culture is heavily obsessed with pain avoidance, so if individuals choose not to see the film, of course that is their understandable right. I don’t say that callously — I come from a trauma background, I understand this. However, I also understand that anything you keep locked away will fester and manifest in dysfunction eventually. We aren’t meant to keep skeletons in our closets, but rather to live free and vulnerable.

At any rate, it’s hard to argue with somebody’s experience. Abby Johnson was lied to about abortion, and she herself lied to many women about abortion. If there is one thing audiences should walk away with, it’s the knowledge that the abortion industry and its propaganda functions and thrives on deception. Which could explain why a movie so discreet and tactful in its delivery has faced massive media outrage and derision. Truth—even truth on a low budget—is always a threat to an Emperor without clothes.