The portrait of an underground abortion network pre-Roe v. Wade is obviously timely, but its slightly askew focus blunts the overall impact. Part of that has to do with making Elizabeth Banks’ Joy, a privileged housewife living in Chicago in 1968, the film’s centerpiece, introducing her as being somewhat oblivious to the tumult of the times. Joy initially applies to the hospital board for permission to terminate the pregnancy, only to have her petition dismissively denied by the all-male panel. The sequence slowly and painfully captures the mix of fear and discomfort Joy feels, after her blindfolded trip to the location and the dimly lit room where it happens. The writers clearly intended to personalize the abortion conversation through their Everywoman protagonist, and Banks ably fills that role.

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