"Never, Maybe, Sometimes, Always," and "The Assistant"

We've seen a good uptick in films addressing the social challenges faced by young women recently, and it's been encouraging to see that many of these projects are being directed and written by women. Two recent examples are "Never, Maybe, Sometimes, Always," and "The Assistant," which look at abortion access and the concerns of the #Metoo movement.

"Never, Maybe, Sometimes, Always," written and directed by Eliza Hittman, follows a Pennsylvania teenager named Autumn (Sidney Flanigan) in her efforts to secure an abortion. She has several hurdles to get past - parental permission requirements in her state, a shady family planning outfit that gives her bad information, and no money to pay for a procedure or transportation. However, Autumn does have her cousin Skylar (Talia Ryder) on her side, who accompanies her on a secret trip to an abortion clinic in New York.

What strikes me as so effective about the film is that it completely sidesteps all the usual moral and politicall arguments about abortion rights and simply focuses on the experiences of one teenager in a difficult situation. The ordeal is often nerve wracking, from the girls staying up all night in the city because they can't afford a hotel room, to Autumn struggling to get through a series of questions on a clinic intake form. Autumn is quiet and doesn't offer much information about herself until asked directly. Even then, we never get the whole picture about her circumstances. I like that the film allows her to keep that measure of privacy, and treats her reasons for pursuing the abortion as ultimately nobody else's business.

The filmmaking here is very low budget and no-frills, to the point where certain clips could be mistaken for "Frontline" documentary footage. However, it does a good job of highlighting the performances of the talented cast. Sidney Flanigan is excellent as Autumn, often conveying a lot about her emotional state with hardly a word. And while the film takes pains to be true to life, it's also very effective at delivering plenty of dramatic tension and unexpected pathos. There's no doubt that "Never, Maybe, Sometimes, Always" is an issue film through and through, but it never feels manipulative or insincere because it also works remarkably well as a character study too. I'd put this one right in the same class as Ken Loach's and the Dardennes brothers' films about the working poor.

"The Assistant," written and directed by Kitty Green, also features a quiet, mild-mannered female lead. This is Jane (Julia Garner), a recent graduate who works as an assistant to a powerful film executive. You never see her boss directly, just a quickly passing figure or an angry voice on the phone. However, his presence hangs heavy over the film, as Jane and her fellow assistants (Noah Robbins, Jon Orsini) are constantly dealing with the fallout of his behavior. There are the frequent calls from an irate wife, and the evidence of multiple affairs and casual encounters. When a new assistant, Sienna (Kristine Froseth), arrives under suspicious circumstances, Jane finally decides to bring her concerns to HR (Matthew MacFayden).

Not knowing much about "The Assistant" going in, I was expecting a thriller or a more typical potboiler melodrama. I watched the opening scenes of Jane going into the office, and going about a typical, humdrum day, waiting for the pace to pick up and the action to start. This never really happened. Instead, I watched Jane go about her business as an overworked, underappreciated personal assistant, completing one dull task after another while trying to ignore - and occasionally apologize for - her boss's horrible behavior. Sexual harassment and misconduct are major elements of the plot, but kept offscreen and Jane is never directly involved. There's no background music and very subdued production design, adding to the mundanity, but the tension keeps building and building until it becomes unbearable.

"The Assistant" proved to be a great surprise, a very effective examination of Jane's dehumanized existence on the bottom rung of the ladder, and all the ways in which her boss's indiscretions are swept under the rug. Julia Garner continues to prove she's a strong talent, carrying the entire film full of long silences, worried glances, and simmering anxiety. She makes Jane's visit to HR one of the miserable highlights of the year. It may take a while to get into the rhythms of the filmmaking, but I appreciate that a film exploring these issues exists, avoids sensationalism, and is executed so well.

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