“Unplanned” movie review

The controversial R-rated movie “Unplanned” follows the real-life story of Abby Johnson who became the youngest director of a Planned Parenthood clinic and earned the distinction of employee of the year, only to abruptly resign and completely reverse her position on the issue of abortion. This movie shows you the events and people that changed her life, that changed her heart. Having seen the movie myself, what can I say about it? How would I describe it? Real. It was very real. And at times it was intense, and yes, even disturbing.

Semi-spoiler alert: Although I have tried not to include real spoilers, I do discuss elements of the plot and development of the movie. If you have already decided to watch it and want to enjoy it without having your experience shaded by outside expectations, you may prefer to watch the movie before reading my review.

Was it gratuitously gory, medically inaccurate, exaggerated?

One of the key points I am sure my readers will want to know about is the R rating. How gory was it? Does it depict an actual abortion? Was it exaggerated? Was it gratuitous? There is quite a bit of blood in several scenes.

It depicts an ultrasound-guided first trimester abortion, which is unusual because these procedures are normally performed blindly. This scene is the pivotal “What she saw” referenced in the tagline, and it was a pivotal moment for the real-life Abby Johnson. The depiction in the movie uses a CGI ultrasound image. Abby Johnson has said that the CGI depiction looks very much like what she saw in real life. I would say the CGI depiction strikes me as sharper and more clear than most ultrasounds I have seen. But it was not fake and cheesy, nor was it medically inaccurate. Although the black and white image of an ultrasound is certainly less gory than directly seeing a fetal dismemberment, this image coupled with seeing the bloody fluid running through the tubes of the suction machine is still quite powerful, even gruesome. If you are taking children or other sensitive individuals to see the film, you need to be prepared for these depictions.

There is also a scene that depicts Abby’s personal experience with a first trimester medical abortion, using abortion pills. Her experience was probably worse than most but — as noted in the movie — is not considered abnormal. The scene depicts a lot of blood and large clots, as well as intense pain. This, too, was a key event in Abby Johnson’s real life. Other scenes depict a medical emergency in the clinic, which is inevitably bloody, and a scene in the POC (products of conception) lab, which is far less graphic than it could have been.

If the aim of the movie were to fully display the gruesomeness of abortion, to persuade the audience by sheer shock value, they could have been far more graphic and disturbing. But that is not what this movie was about. Nothing was gratuitous. Every event is a piece of Abby’s story, and the movie centers not on these depictions, but on her story. And it is a very touching and moving story, one worth telling.

How was the movie, cinematically?

I was a bit unsure of the approach that was taken early in the movie, although perhaps that was partially based on my expectations and what I had already heard about the movie. I think I expected the first part of the movie to focus more on her pro-choice position at that point in her life. Instead, it begins as her telling of her own story and makes her ultimate viewpoint clear from the beginning.

In particular, I questioned the key “what she saw” scene being portrayed so early in the movie. Perhaps because I had expected this to be a climactic moment in the story, I felt like it had been thrown out there prematurely. But the narrative then goes back and traces events in Abby’s life that led up to that moment. And when the scene is later revisited from a slightly different perspective as a climactic moment in her life, it works very well. There is no need to show the ultrasound images again, or focus on the bloody fluid in the suction tubes, we have already seen that. Instead, the scene now focuses on Abby’s emotions, on her response that what she is seeing, and it makes for a powerful moment.

I do wonder if the movie might have done a better job of drawing in pro-choice viewers if it had started with a more neutral tone and spent more time on Abby’s own pro-choice views. But that is hard for me to judge since I don’t approach the movie (or life in general) from that perspective. Perhaps the movie is better for its upfront honesty about where the movie is going.

Ultimately, the story was well told. It was not cheesy. It was not overly dramatic or fake. I appreciated the emphasis on accuracy and realism and I think it paid off. There are events in the movie that could have been changed up, a bit of “artistic license”, for dramatic effect. But I think that would have been a mistake. The movie’s best quality is its authenticity.

How does it portray opposing views?

I think this was one of the best parts of the movie. The characters are not simplistic and one dimensional. They are complex. Pro-choice people are not portrayed as monsters, abortion workers are clearly shown to be doing what they believe is right. I appreciated the portrayal of the dynamic between pro-choice and pro-life family members, and the relationship between Abby Johnson and pro-life advocate, Marilisa. Pro-choice commentators have also spoken positively about this aspect of the movie. I think that this is also one of the things that makes this movie valuable for pro-life people to see. It reminds us that people with opposing views are just that, people. We see both good and bad aspects of pro-lifers, too, as protesters yell angrily at hurting women approaching the clinic. This, too, is an important part of the story. It reminds us that if we want to make a positive difference in this world, love is the key.

Should I see it?

I would recommend this movie, with the caveat that it is somewhat graphic and disturbing (though never gratuitously so, as I have explained). The R rating, however, is questionable. I do think it is appropriate for teens. I think it is worth seeing for both pro-choice and pro-life viewers. I expect that more dedicated pro-choicers will be almost immediately antagonized by the negative view of abortion and may dismiss the movie entirely. However, for the open-minded, I think this movie will give people on both sides of the issue something to think about, whether they agree with the message or not.

You can get tickets at: https://unplannedtickets.com/