Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Two inseparable Pennsylvania teenagers undertake a precarious journey for abortion access, finding strength in friendship amid institutional indifference.
Overview
A poignant journey of friendship and resilience in the face of adversity.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- melancholic
- intimate
- compassionate
- quiet evening
- social issue film night
What critics said
Critics broadly acclaimed Eliza Hittman's sensitive direction, naturalistic performances, restrained visual storytelling, and empathetic treatment of abortion access and female friendship.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film emphasizes bus travel, money shortages, clinic procedures, and bureaucratic barriers through restrained visual storytelling.
Autumn and Skylar leave rural Pennsylvania for New York by bus while seeking reproductive healthcare.
Skylar uses her resourcefulness to secure money and remains beside Autumn throughout the crisis.
Autumn's guarded behavior and the film's understated treatment of her pregnancy make private pain legible without polemical exposition.
Films like Never Rarely Sometimes Always, and why
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
naturalistic coming of age drama centered on female friendship, economic precarity, and difficult reproductive choices
Wadjda
quiet social realism, intimate female bonds, and institutional barriers confronting vulnerable young women
Water Lilies
empathetic adolescent drama using restrained visual storytelling to explore bodily autonomy and social constraint
Rocks
road movie inflections, understated emotion, and marginalized young protagonists navigating adulthood
Movie Details
- Director
- Eliza Hittman
- Release Date
- 2020-03-13
- Runtime
- 101 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (605)
Cast
- Sidney Flanigan
- Talia Ryder
- Théodore Pellerin
- Ryan Eggold
- Sharon Van Etten
- Eliazar Jimenez
- David Buneta
- Christian Clements
- Sam Dugger
- Aurora Richards
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Never Rarely Sometimes Always about?
- Two inseparable Pennsylvania teenagers undertake a precarious journey for abortion access, finding strength in friendship amid institutional indifference.
- What is Never Rarely Sometimes Always like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Never Rarely Sometimes Always as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Never Rarely Sometimes Always violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Never Rarely Sometimes Always.
- What did critics think of Never Rarely Sometimes Always?
- Critics broadly acclaimed Eliza Hittman's sensitive direction, naturalistic performances, restrained visual storytelling, and empathetic treatment of abortion access and female friendship.
- Which films are like Never Rarely Sometimes Always?
- Films with a similar feel include The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Wadjda, Water Lilies, and Rocks.
- How long is Never Rarely Sometimes Always?
- Never Rarely Sometimes Always runs 101 minutes.
- Where can I watch Never Rarely Sometimes Always?
- In United States, Never Rarely Sometimes Always is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
