An activist group takes a suburban housewife in their ranks. Call JanePhyllis Nagy, who wrote of Carol. Elizabeth Banks is a likeable lead in this story inspired by the network of women who arranged safer illegal abortions in 1960s and ’70s Chicago. It was written by Hayley Schore, Roshan Sethi and explores the gender and body politics at the time.
Banks portrays Joy, a smart and pregnant mother who assists Will (Chris Messina), with his work while also taking on the role of a traditional homemaker. After Joy collapses, the doctor discovers a medical condition that could be life-threatening if her pregnancy continues — but their petition for a “therapeutic termination”The all-male board denies her request. Joy is desperate and sees a flyer that says, “Pregnant? Anxious?… Call Jane.” She’s gradually drawn into the underground “Jane”Virginia (Sigourney) Weaver is the one who leads the group and arranges abortions to those in need. Joy becomes more involved after she assists Dean (Cory Michael Smith), while keeping it a secret to her husband, Grace Edwards, and Kate Mara.
There are disturbing, tense moments. JaneJoy, for example, enters the medical area to undergo her procedure. She’s terrified, fully conscious and told to keep quiet while Dean wields instruments and explains exactly what he’s going to do with them. But this is not the squirm-inducing trauma of the likes of Mike Leigh’s Vera Drake, or one of the more graphic award contenders What’s Happening. Once Joy has recovered, we’re shown the procedure several more times, each one accompanied by a more brisk, routine tone that’s either jarring or ground-breaking, depending on your position — possibly both.
Unlike many an abortion drama (which granted, isn’t a huge genre), this doesn’t dwell on either risk or conflicting emotions; it is taken for granted that these women have been helped enormously. Gwen Mosaku (Wunmi Mosaku) is a petitioner for Black women. Those we actually see tend more towards privileged white characters who are easier to play for laughs, such as Sandra (Alison Jaye), an excitable young woman who’s having an affair with a man Virginia labels a “Jackass.”
Rocking a Gloria Steinem look, Weaver is one of the film’s finest assets, thoroughly convincing as world-weary ’60s feminist who can talk women or men into anything (watch out for a strange but ultimately amusing session of strip poker). Meanwhile, the excellent soundtrack has the mood of a hippy love-in, mixing evocative, lesser-known tracks by everyone from Nancy Sinatra to The Velvet Underground, perhaps the most pointed being Malvina Reynolds’ “What’s Goin’ On Down There.”
While abortion rights are still being debated in the U.S.A., and similarly themed docs worldwide, JanesAlso available in Sundance Call JaneThis topic is still relevant today and will cause some controversy in some circles. It approaches its serious subject with a smile and falls comfortably alongside the likes The Basis of Sex MissbehaviourA cheerful, accessible drama about feminism.