CALL JANE

Call Jane suffers from an underdeveloped script which grinds its gears far too often, and from botched editing, most notably in the final act, with a denouement that appears to be ham-fistedly tacked on at the last minute.

After the abysmal decision of the US Supreme Court to overturn the right to abortion Call Jane is the timeliest of movies, as it shows how difficult it was in the late sixties to terminate a pregnancy.

The film focuses on the work of a network of dedicated volunteers who try to help these women, often at a high personal cost. It’s a tremendous shame then that Call Jane is a pretty tame melodrama for most of its runtime. The obstacles lead actress Elizabeth Banks encounters as she morphs from a stereotypical housewife to someone who performs abortions herself feel needlessly soapy and bland, while the genuine dangers the network risked – most notably criminal prosecution – are never felt.

The picture also suffers from an underdeveloped script which grinds its gears far too often, and from botched editing, most notably in the final act, with a denouement that appears to be ham-fistedly tacked on at the last minute.

The one person that does register is Sigourney Weaver, who gets the most out of her supporting role, but it’s not enough to save Call Jane from dullness.

release: 2022

director: Phyllis Nagy

starring: Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver, Cory Michael Smith, Kate Mara