An honest-to-god horror movie. The camera swings and lingers with all the tension of a Blumhouse movie and the care of a French romance. I went “no no no no” every time a man was on the screen. Girls are made to grow up so fast. I was a grown-ass adult man in a writer’s room at the age of 23 scared to drive my big boy car to a local doctor on my guild-provided insurance and figure out why I kept passing out at the office and here are these two baby girls born after the towers fell putting their lives in repeated danger for a peace of mind they should’ve always been afforded. Hell hell hell.

“what’s wrong?”
“girl problems”

so special. it’s sparse in just the way it needs to be, the silence carrying us along with it. quiet despair is just the routine for so many, and this shows it with so much empathy that it made my heart ache. ugh

Had to support Eliza Hittman in theaters. (I'm in a safe area and taking precautions.) She is truly indie and seemingly dedicated to social/political criticism rather than mainstream appeal.

Lots to love with her newest film... great performances by Sidney Flanigan and Talia Ryder, real guerrilla filmmaking with what seems like stolen shots in NYC and Hélène Louvart's beautiful 16mm cinematography.

Major props go to Sidney Flanigan. This is her debut and she delivers big time.

Arriflex 416, Zeiss Ultra Prime Lenses
16 mm (Kodak Vision3 500T 7219)

Watched at Arclight Hollywood

Eliza Hittman has an attention to detail that, as proven here, can carry an entire film without words. Not just in the faces but in footsteps, blinks, and obviously hands. Even the smallest of actions speak so loudly. When something otherwise “normal” means something, you feel that difference.

There’s a specific shot near the beginning when Autumn is laying in the bed after her ultrasound exam. The camera follows her face as she turns to her side, facing away from the monitor. In the midst of a situation that’s left her no room to breath, she finds solace where she can, in that moment it’s on the other side of that bed. That solace redefines itself throughout the film, but proves itself present in every moment, even if that moment is in the middle of a shitty NYC train station.

when they panned up to show the counselor holding autumn’s hand, or gently stroking her cheek, or brushing her hair out of her face.. i was so overwhelmed my eyes kept filling up. and then autumn absorbing that as a form of comfort & offering her cousin her hand when she needed it, out of sight but still making her presence known. a sign of “you are safe” 

the whole film kept leading me back to the song real love by big thief, specifically: 

“having a bad week? 
let me touch your cheek.
i will always love you.”

anyway please watch this, is it so quietly powerful, 
and nothing is more satisfying than seeing “executive producer barry jenkins” during the credits

this destroyed me. so so good.

A movie that truly captures the despair of the Port Authority Bus Terminal

yup that title scene broke me it really broke me

powerful in such a simple and intimate way, i wish every woman i know could watch it

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Far too real of a film with the fear and honesty in simple actions. No need to romanticize these sorts of situations, I don't envy anyone.

A cena que dá nome ao filme é um soco. Um espetáculo de atuação sem precisar dizer mais do que 4 palavras.

Filme muito forte e muito angustiante por ser realista demais. Muito bom.

I have never seen a film that has so much attention to detail. Although there is rarely any dialogue, you understand the intentions and feelings of the character. There were sometimes some moments that were heart-wrenching - the long take scene where she implied that her relationships were abusive had me crying, even though I have no idea what it feels like. It is a film I will always appreciate for its subtlety and relevance.

I watched this because I decided I wanted to start my Sunday off sobbing alone on my couch, apparently

Never rarely sometimes always is a beautiful film about not just the stigmas and the duel that a woman have to face with the decision of commit an abortion.
This film is very real, cruel and beautiful. It portrays the struggles that women have to pass all the time, all the microagressions and how the value is reduced to mere sexual commodification.

The strength and the union between women in the film is warm, sad and real.
Eliza Hittman knows how to create the sensations of discomfort and makes us partners of the journey of the protagonist. 

Very human film and very necessary.

"a narrative about a girl carrying around a lot of pain and burden, and the loneliness of it all"

Yup.

Two fantastic performances leading this.

That was really crushing.

What a film. This is what modern cinema has the power to be. I don’t have too much to say because this film has been extensively talked about for almost a year now, but it’s amazing. The combined force of director/writer Eliza Hittman, actress Sidney Flanigan, and composer Julie Holter makes never rarely sometimes always a simple but powerful experience. Even though I can’t relate to Autumn in many ways, I felt her pain and the way Flanigan portrays her emotions is really unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s one of those films that you come out differently than you entered and when it ends you’re just taken aback, it’s fantastic. One of the best of 2020 and I hope it gets at least 1 nomination at the Oscars although it’s unlikely.

In addition to a documentary. More than a youth drama. The cinema fulfilling its role with mastery when touching on difficult subjects.

This is so real.

Una historia que mi generación le contaría a la siguiente, rodada con toda la belleza y naturalidad que se pueda extraer de nuestra época.

Hittman understands the power of a cut. In fact, her precision throughout the film is second to few, and asks the audience to be present through it all – feel it all.

I've been talking a lot about choice and how we're quick to celebrate even the slightest directorial move (regardless of its actually effectiveness), when that's actually the job.

Why use a long shot? Why cut to black for ten minutes? Why withhold info?

Why?

What does it achieve in the context of the film you're making?

Hittman gives us a crash course on what a film becomes when the right choices are made.