{"id":1980,"date":"2019-03-26T09:10:51","date_gmt":"2019-03-26T13:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/read.whitefire-publishing.com\/?p=1980"},"modified":"2020-06-01T09:05:39","modified_gmt":"2020-06-01T13:05:39","slug":"unplanned-movie-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whitefire-publishing.com\/read\/unplanned-movie-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Unplanned (Movie Review)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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David White, Publisher<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I got to see an early screening of Unplanned.  <\/em>I was prepared to be shocked.  That was, after all, what all the hype was about.  But shock isn\u2019t what I got.  I got dread.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was expecting<\/em> to\nbe told what was happening \u2013 to watch the character develop and culminate in\nher seeing the abortion of a child on a monitor.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was wrong.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best thing the filmmakers have done is set us up knowing that this scene was in the film.  (I hope in the home video versions they have a warning at the beginning to set it up.)  I was expecting it to be toward the end.  I was expecting to follow Abby through her journey to that moment and be forever changed.  But Abby’s story wasn\u2019t the one that mattered. Our story \u2013 the audience\u2019s \u2013 was.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we start with that scene. \nWith no time to prepare yourself with story or character\ndevelopment.  Boy, does that front-load\nthe dread<\/em>.  The whole scene is set up in such a way as to\nbuild this tension, and it doesn\u2019t\u2019 stop. \nFrom there on everything in the film is predicated on this scene.  Everything you see \u2013 everything you feel.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The writers (I believe Abby herself wrote the basic form in her book by the same name) added every scene to keep up this audience reaction.  By skipping around in time a bit and telling the end first, then Abby\u2019s story, we\u2019re constantly in wonder about how she got there <\/em> and in dread because we know its not over.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I\u2019ve told people about this film, I\u2019ve described it\nthis way: \u201cIt\u2019s one of the worst things I\u2019ve seen \u2013 you should see it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both are true.  I\nbelieve that the reaction that the writers were looking to evoke was disgust\nand sadness at the abortion industry.  I\nthink they nailed it \u2013 in that it\u2019s truly terrible<\/em>,in the most classic sense of the\nword.  Maybe that\u2019s what I meant when I\nsay \u201cworst.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, at the same time and by starting the story where they do, they manage not to make us hate <\/em>Abby.  We get to experience the dread <\/em>with her.  We then get to experience her life.  It makes us empathize with people like her \u2013 those that have had abortions and (at least some) of the people who work in the clinics.  We\u2019re on their side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least for a while.  We do get a hint of darkness in Abby, but I think we need this too.  The message is \u201cif you don\u2019t turn away from evil, this is what it makes you.\u201d  Abby doesn\u2019t like what she\u2019s becoming.  It gives the audience a choice \u2013 asks us a question. \u201cIs this who we want to be?\u201d  Her answer is complicated and takes some time.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I think that all these things add up to a truly\nauthentic story.  Does it matter that\nit\u2019s a true story \u2013 that it really happened? \nI don\u2019t know.  It takes some of\nthe sting of the counterfeit away, knowing its true.  If it was pure fiction, I suppose it could be\ndismissed.  Regardless, the storytelling\nprinciples remain the same.  They could\nhave told the same, true story in a different way and still counterfeited <\/em>us, the audience.  They didn\u2019t. \nI\u2019m thankful for it.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m still troubled by the question of who should see\nthis.  I know that most adults should be\nable to handle it.  But when you\u2019re\nmessing with the audience emotions, you\u2019re playing with fire.  I\u2019m further hindered by my own emotional<\/a>\nreaction.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Should my 13-year-old daughter see it?  I don\u2019t think so.  Maybe that\u2019s me being over protective.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But again, I don\u2019t think so.  Do I want to fill her with that kind of dread?  In the end, the story\u2019s one of redemption<\/a> and light, and I don\u2019t think you can have that without some element of sin and death.  I\u2019d rather fill her with compassion.  Compassion for those who have experienced things like Abby did \u2013 for the children lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the overwhelming emotion the audience feels is pain,\nsadness and dread.  Even the ending \u2013\neven knowing it in advance \u2013 is tinged with just a bit of that dread and\nthinking, \u201cMaybe this doesn\u2019t go so well after all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So even with all the complaints about the MPAA\u2019s R rating, I\nthink they did us a service (and not just for the film\u2019s PR).  This is something we need to think about\nbefore going to see it.  To know it\u2019s\ngoing to affect us.  If that rating had\nbeen PG-13, a lot of people would have gone without\nthinking about it<\/em>, and this is a film deserving of consideration both\nbefore and after viewing.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So use your judgement.  I stand by my statement (with some small corrections): \u201cThis is a terrible <\/em>film.  Everyone should probably see it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This review was original published with the article Emotional Counterfeiting <\/a><\/u>click here to read the whole article.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(This is the opinion of the author – it doesn’t necessarily reflect the opinion of WhiteFire Publishing or any of its authors)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I got to see an early screening of Unplanned.  I was prepared to be shocked.  That was, after all, what all the hype was about.  But shock isn\u2019t what I got.  I got dread.  I was expecting to be told what was happening \u2013 to watch the character develop and culminate in her seeing the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[228],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-from-the-publishers-desk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t