Call Jane (Sundance '22)
I wasn’t sure what to expect seeing Call Jane, directed by Phyllis Nagy (Carol, Mrs. Harris). Unfamiliar with her plays the only thing I had to go off of is Carol (2015). Not liking Carol, but respecting it compelled me to see her feature directorial debut at the Sundance Film Festival. But also, the subject matter, and the cast: Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Mara, Chris Messina were influential factors.
A quick plot overview: Joy (Elizabeth Banks) is a conservative rich housewife in 1968 Chicago. Life threatening medical complications in the beginning of her second pregnancy causes her doctor to recommend an abortion. Due to abortion being illegal, a supervisory board of medical doctors denies the abortion. This forces Joy to call The Janes to get an abortion illegally. Virginia (Sigourney Weaver) who is the founder of the Janes recruits Joy after her abortion to help the organization as an advocate. Secretly working with The Janes underground organization forces Joy to challenge the patriarchy, her values / ambitions, and her status as a woman within society that begins to clash with her husband, Will (Chris Messina), and teenage daughter Charlotte (Grace Edwards).
One of the things that annoyed me a lot throughout the movie was the heavy-handed use of music over several scenes. But also, the on the nose lyrics telling me how to feel. That could have been weaved in a more thoughtful way in relation to the rest of the frame. Silence and letting the noises within the scenes fill those spaces would have maintained the reality of how dangerous and significant these women’s decisions were. The music creates too much of a levity that is cheesy.
I love Elizabeth Banks, but this is her best performance. She blew me away with her range that we don’t get to see due to Hollywood constantly having typecasted her in comedies. She carried this film with power, humor, but also being brave in her vulnerability within very difficult scenes. Hopefully casting directors, executives, and directors will take note of her immense talent to do drama. I found myself rooting for her character along with the supporting cast.
One of my favorite characters in the film is one of The Janes, Gwen, played by Wunmi Mosaku. She stole a lot of scenes and I found myself wishing we saw more of her character throughout the film. Wunmi was perfect within the ensemble amongst Sigourney Weaver’s strength, but also alongside Elizabeth Banks, adding a groundedness, but also the one character questioning The Janes’ ethics. I look forward to seeing her in more films and TV shows.
For only having a 25-day shoot on film with one camera, this is an impressive debut by Phyllis Nagy. It isn’t gritty, and there might have been creative licenses taken throughout. But Call Jane delivers on giving viewers an empowering message that we need to be reminded of in these dark times of how powerful women are, and no matter what we are always going to continue to fight for our rights. It is informative, sometimes cheesy, but as a whole entertaining, walking this line between the harsh realities of illegal abortion and the empowerment of The Jane movement. Making it accessible to an array of audiences.