Summary
The story of a director of a Planned Parenthood branch and her journey into the pro-life movement.
Disclaimer
This review was written at the behest of one of my customers at work. They wanted to know what I think of the film. This will be a review of the film, not of its message or political stance. I rarely talk about my stance on this issue since I refuse to talk about it in a non-personal way and that is how most discourse around this issue is conducted. If you are a pro-lifer, hoping to have me turn a blind eye to a film’s failing for the sake of its message, then I am afraid I will disappoint you. If you are a pro-choicer, hoping I will slam this movie because of its political stance, then I am afraid you will be equally disappointed.
If, however, you simply want to know whether the movie was good or not from a storytelling, film making, and artistic perspective, then this is the place for you.
The Film
“Unplanned” is one of the rare films that has me well and truly torn. On the one hand, it isn’t a great film. Nowhere near a great film. On the other, when it comes to Christian film, it is another in a series of films that are taking positive steps in the ‘competent film making’ category.
Starting with the positive, the acting in “Unplanned” is remarkably good considering the quality of performances we are accustomed to from the Christian Film Industry. Sure, the acting of most of the characters is terrible but, for once, this film had me actually feeling and empathizing with the lead character Abby (Ashley Bratcher, “90 Minutes in Heaven”). Her tenderness feels as authentic as her anger and her joys. Many times Christian films take it for granted that we will identify with a character but this one features an actress who is doing the work to make that happen.
Also, the story is a pretty remarkable and moving one. The way it is told in this movie is absolutely awful and the writers should be ashamed of themselves for using gimmicky story devices and terrible dialogue for the vast majority of the film but the events of the story itself still land somewhat, simply because the story is a powerful one.
Well, that’s pretty much all there is to like about this movie. The music is Christian cringe, the scenarios seem unrealistic, and the editing actually removes tension from the film by placing a principal turning point for the character at the start of the film in order to begin ‘in media res.’ Voice over which explains the things we are currently watching adds to the sense that the film maker’s are more interested in controlling the audience and their perceptions that they are in creating an engaging work of artistic intent.
Once again, The Christian Propaganda Machine rears its head and takes a story, which might have been moving, and turns it into a heavy handed sermon whose only real effect is to make the Christians who watch it feel good about their already held feelings and opinions.
Like “God’s Not Dead” and other films like it, the propaganda element is too strong. The agenda is too out front. If this were a simple personal story of one woman’s journey with the abortion, that would be one thing, but this is a personal story that has had all of the reality washed over with Christian worship music, idealized versions of Christian culture and protesters, as well as over the top villainizations of pro-choice advocates.
When a film does that, especially when claiming to be based on a true story, it devalues every other thing in the film. The fact that we never once see an abortion protester being a jerk makes anyone with even a modest amount of media acumen assume that the film is deliberately hiding that fact from its viewers to present a better view of the side of the issue which they happen to be on. If they would do it here, why not in another scene, where blood is pouring out of someone (maybe that’s exaggerated too), or when corporate embarrasses her in front of the entire board?
Those compromises, for the sake of making their point, hurt the filmmaker’s when they try to get you to connect with their message. And that is the real problem. This is a film that puts message above engagement. Art tries to engage a viewer into feeling and thinking about a situation, person, or event in a way that prompts their own being into involvement with that thing. A film like this, which lays its agenda so blatantly and clumsily before its audience simply forces a person to say, almost immediately, what side of the pro-life/choice issue they are on, closing their minds to whatever manipulation they see if they happen to be pro-choice, or championing a lackluster and manipulative film if they happen to be pro-life. Since I am sure that the real Abby wants people to stop getting abortions, I’m sure she’d be disappointed to find out that the way this film is constructed pretty much assures that no one who disagrees with her will ever sit through more than ten minutes of the film.
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