The film opens with the words that for many decades that women of Irish descent were forced to leave their home country when seeking an abortion, the numbers are staggering, alarming and mostly sad.
We briefly meet Sarah and her boyfriend in an opening sequence that starts in a bar and ends up in a car, Sarah is then seen over the toilet throwing up, and then crying over the result of her home pregnancy test.
Davet is Sarah's best friend and as is played wonderfully by Paul Fitzgerald, easily the best actor in the entire film. No matter the issue Davet is there for her.
When her parents find out about her pregnancy they are split on the fate of their relationship(s) with their daughter, her mother wanting nothing more to do with her --whereas her father drives her to the airport and tells her to call him if she needs anything else.
The film's centerpiece is, of course, Sarah and also shows what being cast out by many of a single choice one woman has to make, not just in Ireland, but around the world, many women are shunned, neglected and abused for their choosing abortion.
Davet is there for Sarah when she comes home from having her abortion, they drink & drink through the night. Sarah then asks him when he decided to come out to his parents and how they reacted to him being gay.
Sarah still feeling low about her choice, she is reluctant to return calls from the ex-boyfriend Shane who suggested that they take a break from each other at the same time in which she was going to break the news to him. This films really shows how things can easily break down between families over issues such as this
Sarah is having several complications with the procedure from the abortion, along with its very vivid nightmares of what resembles a fetus following her. One night it crawls into bed with her and cuddles her, she wakes up screaming, or is she sleeping as Davet sees the same creature in another room. Upon entering the room Sarah is standing at the end of the bed with blood coming from her crotch and going down both of her legs.
After many nights alone and spent with Davet telling her that Shane is calling and wants to talk, Sarah calls him back and asks him to come over.
This really for me was a story about letting go and not letting things dwell too much for they will take control of you and consume your life. Not many directors can switch gears one film after another as Paddy Murphy has done here. His first feature film "The Three Don'ts" was a brilliant crime film, here he lends his voice to horror. Not full throttle in your face horror but more subjective and makes the audience pay attention which is crafty and also risky as most audiences want it all handed to them, I find these days. This film does not preach on the choice of abortion, it is just telling one woman's story with an edge to it.
This certainly does it's job and effectively, I am quite excited to see what Paddy Murphy and the talented crew at Celtic Badger Media come up with next!
Thank you for reading this
Sincerely
Anthony Nadeau
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