Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020)

Just a quiet, unsensational film about a small-town teenage girl in need of an abortion. The boys in her class taunt her as a "slut," her father is casually cruel, and her boss is a lecher who insists on kissing her hand with a disgusting amount of enthusiasm at the end of her shift. When she goes to a women's clinic in her town to get a pregnancy test, it turns out it's one of those places that only want to help you keep the baby -- though, I must say, I was happy that the women there were portrayed as gentle and kind. She and her cousin get on a bus to the city, but their quick trip turns into three days and they don't have money for that. 

It's heartbreaking to watch these children have to figure out their next move, especially when you consider that their substantial roadblocks aren't the worst ones in this country. At least they were just one state away from a place to legally get a second-trimester termination without parental consent and she was lucky enough to have a supportive friend with her. 

The best moments in the film, though, were those constant encounters with boys and men who think nothing of subjecting these girls to sexual advances. The film got it so right -- if you have girls and you aren't constantly talking to them about what's going on their life, you better start doing so immediately. Their world is filled with predators -- even "nice guy" ones.

A