Ashley Bratcher displays realistic, suitable restraint and persuasive agony as Abby Johnson, a Planned Parenthood director (and real-life person). We miss her, in the faith-based Unplanned (2019), every time she is not on screen.
Whatever moral merit exists in Planned Parenthood—and filmmakers Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon do not believe there is very much—the movie is hot and bothered that bloody abortions are taking place in P.P.’s private rooms; and well it should be. Abby herself has had two abortions and scarcely cares that her Christian parents and her husband are offended by her director job. However, P.P.’s garbage, its evildoing, becomes too much for her. She actually seeks help from anti-abortion protesters.
Unplanned is a powerful film until its last twenty to twenty-five minutes. Then its artistry starts failing. There is not enough build-up to Abby’s decision to leave Planned Parenthood, and the script begins to propagandize for the pro-life movement. The movie ends up being less successful than Gosnell. But for a long time that artistry is there. And Bratcher’s performance is there. Final word: However much Pure Flix recoils from it, the movie’s R rating is justified.
Leave a Reply