Eliza Hittman is becoming one of those directors and writers gearing on films with issues related to young adults. She did so with Beach Rats in 2017 and does so again with Never Rarely Sometimes Always. The film begins with faded cinematography and lighting showing close-ups of Autumn’s (played by Sidney Flanigan as the lead actress) looks of aggravation, frustration, and confusion. The film has a heavy theme, but it is set quietly which helps viewers follow Autumn’s journey involving her stressful conflict. Never Rarely Sometimes Always holds many emotions and questions that are slowly answered as Autumn deals with an unplanned pregnancy.

Autumn is a seventeen-year-old high school student. She is not close to her parents.  There is unexplained tension and their communication is lacking. As the days go by, she is not feeling well, and then she realizes it is because she is pregnant. This is a portion of Autumn’s life where she feels she does not have the guts to talk to her parents about her situation or visit a clinic in her hometown in the state of Pennsylvania. The clinics in her state require parental consent for an abortion. This prompts her to go to New York with her cousin Skylar (played by Talia Ryder). In New York, the clinics do not require parental consent and that is the cousins go on this difficult journey to find a resolution for Autumn. The downside is they set out on this trip with little money and not much knowledge on what they can afford. Most of the money they have is required for Autumn’s procedure at the clinic which causes tension to slowly grow between the girls. Autumn is distraught with herself because she feels there is no other way to move forward unless she goes through with the abortion.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always spoke to me, because it shows how important it is to have communication and support when facing unplanned situations. The scenarios where Autumn and Skylar realize they have no money shows that they are still too young to navigate conflicts without the help of a parent or an adult guardian. Director Hittman shows a clear depiction of how Autumn’s brain is not developed enough to take on life-changing challenges (which is also shown in many scientific studies). Never Rarely Sometimes Always makes us ask ourselves if Autumn is going to be alright and also makes viewers hope she will be. Unfortunately, she is just someone who made a mistake and is not a bad person, but just wants to feel she is loved.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always has a heavy theme, but I thought it was done right. It was not made to be overly depressing by throwing many more irreparable consequences in with the main conflict. It only had the one conflict of the unplanned pregnancy and the difficult journey in which Autumn had to make a challenging decision. At the film’s conclusion, I wondered what was in store for Autumn based on her actions and I was left asking myself if her decisions were the right ones.  Overall, believe Never Rarely Sometimes Always deserves three and a half stars.

In the fall of 2011, Steven Soderbergh directed a film that shocked audiences around the world about how seriously a virus can impact the globe. Contagion is a dark, sad, and honest emotional thriller about the steps people should take in the event of a pandemic. When people first watched Contagion, it made them want to wash their hands after they left the film in fear. Today, the world is experiencing this pattern almost as accurately as Contagion presented it. The film has recently had many views on streaming services because of the current virus. I think people are now making the connection with Contagion because of its realism to what is happening around the world.

The plot of Contagion revolves around Beth Emhoff (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) who is traveling back from an international trip when she starts to experience flu-like symptoms. She views the symptoms as just a common cold, but later it gets worse and leads to many other health risks. Her husband, Mitch Emhoff (played by Matt Damon), starts to take the illness seriously and get tested, but it is not long until the virus grows out of control around the world. Many government officials and doctors then begin to take precautions to protect the globe during the pandemic. Research doctors, Erin Meer (played by Kate Winslet), Ellis Cheever (played by Laurence Fishbourne), Leorona Orantes (played by Marrion Cotillard) and many others try to figure out the science to determine what can prevent the flu from spreading. There is also a scientist who argues with the media, Alan Krumwiede (played by Jude Law). Krumwiede has many other beliefs which are in conflict with the media, but the pandemic continues to worsen.

In the coronavirus situation that our world is in in now, I keep thinking back to Contagion. That is because the film shows places that are closed as well as stores that remain open, but the essential items are gone.  Eventually, the stores become too overwhelmed to handle the amount of people that are trying to remain safe. The Contagion film has a unique layout where the days are listed as the film progresses. Soderbergh’s directing has this format to give his audience an idea of what may happen or may not happen. There are some resolutions, but the quarantine makes people start to lose hope and go into panic mode. To those who have not seen Contagion, it is a faithful and dark film which now seems very realistic considering what is currently going on in the world.

I will admit that the film has moments where the intensity is over-done. However, it is a thriller that will make people think about how they can help contain the spread of COVID-19 by following similar steps to the ones that Damon’s character takes to keep himself safe.  The question of the duration of the pandemic remains unanswered as it is difficult to predict when things can go back to normal. As I mentioned previously, the film has been ranking high on streaming services which is a bit surprising to me, because even though this is a captivating thriller, some may find it hard to watch now.  Still, there is no question that the film’s message to stay inside and save lives plays a big role in the pandemic today. I give Contagion three stars.  Keep in mind that for some people it may be worthy to watch now, but for others, it probably hits too close to home.

Director Kitty Green delivers an eerie psychological drama that is based on issues related to the prior problems of Harvey Weinstein. However, it is not focused on just the news stories being revealed, but instead the discreet communications, disturbing phone calls, unexplained schedule changes, and odd strategies that strike the main actress as red flag while doing her job. The Assistant lacks use of music and scoring by including a generous amount of silence which makes viewers feel like they are sharing the moments with Jane (played by Julia Garner) as she comes across critical realizations. The problem is that if she complains, she feels she is bound to lose a position that is top-notch. She tries to avoid a disturbance, but the more the weird conflicts arise in emails, phone calls, or meetings, her anxiety slowly grows.

Jane is an assistant to a prestigious executive in a film office. She handles most of the day-to-day responsibilities that require her to work long hours. While she has adapted to her work routine, over time she starts to become more aware that her position is shady based on the tasks she is told to do by her boss. For example, Jane comes across phone calls with his wife who is angry with him (that is a red flag), she gets many notifications of cancellations with other executives (that is another red flag), and she is told to write many emails in a way that does not make sense to her. This starts to make Jane realize that her boss is being intentionally discreet when she is told to continue the process of what she is doing even though it does not look professional or appropriate. As more aggravations come across her desk each day due to how her boss wants processes done, the more she realizes that there are unacceptable elements that she feels she needs to try to figure out.

I felt that Julia Garner was the perfect type for the role of playing the assistant, Jane. She is professional, not popular, comes to work and stays on task. She also keeps it cool without showing the uncomfortable anxiety she has building up. Garner also did an outstanding job expressing how she is feeling as time progresses.  I felt that she was what stole the movie. The film is decent, not great, but her acting is what drives the film’s main problem.

The Assistant is dry in moments. That is because it’s simply set in the same place throughout the movie and it tries to stay on pace with the setting of a film office (with the strange operations hidden). As Jane discovers more weird problems to take care of or get rid of for her boss, we wonder what her next plan is. It will make viewers ask themselves if she going to do anything.   This question is one that kind of drags on, but in the end the film is truly a haunting thriller based on Jane’s discoveries. I give The Assistant two and a half stars.