One thing is clear in this tree Park compilation of women in different eras considering an abortion. Many women do not support other women when it comes to their choice in regards to whether or not they will keep a baby or in their lives in general. In the first part set in 1952, you have a war widow (Demi Moore) who finds out that she's pregnant from a one-night stand with her brother-in-law, comforting her and leading to a situation that sets the course for something truly dramatic. While her mother-in-law, Shirley Knight, seem supportive, as well as her sister-in-law, eventually the sister-in-law turns against her. Dangerous abortion techniques leads to tragedy after she has tried to find something safer, the viewer is left shattered and broken when it switches to 1974.
The second part, starring Sissy Spacek, stars an already too busy mom, considering aborting it after the onslaught of Roe versus Wade. It's a very generic story and while Spacek is always likable, it's rather a pointless chapter. It's the third part (directed by and co-starring Cher) that recaptures some of the emotion the single mother Anne Heche facing pro-lifers (led by Eileen Brennan) who become violent on the second day when she decides she's going to go through it. Her roommate (Jada Pinkett) and best friend initially is not supportive, but when Heche breaks down, her friend realizes that friendship is more important than differences.
While the initial scene of the pro-lifers seems calm and peaceful, the second day is anything but, a reminder of headlines of some of the hectic violence that this issue has caused with a horrifying twist I did not see coming. As a man, I take no point of view in watching this, and I make no presumption of the writers motives. But I do know what touches me emotionally, and the final shot of Moore had me shaking. This is the most vulnerable I've ever seen her be on screen since "Ghost", and she gives one of her best performances and certainly the best performance in the film. The final sequence of the third part maybe a bit extreme, but it still makes a very strong point and left my emotions raw and exposed. If that was the writer's intentions, then they greatly succeeded.
The second part, starring Sissy Spacek, stars an already too busy mom, considering aborting it after the onslaught of Roe versus Wade. It's a very generic story and while Spacek is always likable, it's rather a pointless chapter. It's the third part (directed by and co-starring Cher) that recaptures some of the emotion the single mother Anne Heche facing pro-lifers (led by Eileen Brennan) who become violent on the second day when she decides she's going to go through it. Her roommate (Jada Pinkett) and best friend initially is not supportive, but when Heche breaks down, her friend realizes that friendship is more important than differences.
While the initial scene of the pro-lifers seems calm and peaceful, the second day is anything but, a reminder of headlines of some of the hectic violence that this issue has caused with a horrifying twist I did not see coming. As a man, I take no point of view in watching this, and I make no presumption of the writers motives. But I do know what touches me emotionally, and the final shot of Moore had me shaking. This is the most vulnerable I've ever seen her be on screen since "Ghost", and she gives one of her best performances and certainly the best performance in the film. The final sequence of the third part maybe a bit extreme, but it still makes a very strong point and left my emotions raw and exposed. If that was the writer's intentions, then they greatly succeeded.