Never Rarely Sometimes Always is a 2020 drama film written and directed by Eliza Hittman. It stars Sidney Flanigan (in her acting debut), Talia Ryder, Théodore Pellerin, Ryan Eggold and Sharon Van Etten. It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2020. It was also selected to compete for the Golden Bear in the main competition section at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize.[4][5][6] The film was released in the United States on March 13, 2020, by Focus Features. It received widespread acclaim from critics, with praise aimed at Flanigan’s performance and Hittman’s direction.
Never Rarely Sometimes Always | |
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Directed by | Eliza Hittman |
Written by | Eliza Hittman |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Hélène Louvart |
Edited by | Scott Cummings |
Music by | Julia Holter |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Universal Pictures (international) Focus Features (United States)[1] |
Release dates |
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Running time | 101 minutes |
Countries |
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Language | English |
Budget | <$5 million[2] |
Box office | $891,527[3] |
Seventeen-year-old Autumn Callahan suspects she is pregnant and goes to a crisis pregnancy center. At the center, she takes a drug store test that confirms that she is pregnant. She gets told that she is 10 weeks along and is given literature on adoption and is shown an anti-abortion video.
After learning that she is unable to get an abortion in Pennsylvania without parental consent, she tries to induce a miscarriage by swallowing pills and punching herself in the stomach. When those methods fail, she confides in her cousin, Skylar, that she is pregnant. Skylar steals cash from the grocery store where they work, and the two buy bus tickets to New York City.
On the bus they meet Jasper, a young man who is persistently interested in Skylar even though she tries to blow him off.
At the Planned Parenthood clinic, Autumn learns that the crisis pregnancy center lied to her about how far along she was and that she is actually 18 weeks pregnant. Though she is still able to get an abortion, she must go to a secondary clinic the following morning in order to have the abortion performed.
Autumn and Skylar spend an uncomfortable night riding the subway and playing games at an arcade. The following morning at the clinic, Autumn learns that a second-trimester abortion is a two-day procedure and that paying for the abortion will wipe out most of her funds. The counselor also asks her a series of questions about her sexual partners which reveal that Autumn's partners have been physically and sexually abusive.
Out of money, Skylar realizes the two have no way of going home. As Autumn refuses to let Skylar call either of their mothers, Skylar reaches out to Jasper, who takes them bowling and to karaoke. At the end of the night, Skylar asks Jasper to loan them the money for their bus tickets, and he agrees. Skylar leaves with Jasper to find an ATM, and Autumn later goes looking for them. She finds them kissing. Realizing Skylar is only going along with it for the loan, Autumn discreetly grabs Skylar's hand to comfort her.
In the morning, Autumn goes to her appointment and has the abortion. Autumn and Skylar go to a restaurant, where Skylar asks her questions about the procedure, but Autumn remains vague. The two ride a bus back to Pennsylvania.
In April 2019, it was announced Sidney Flanigan, Talia Ryder, Théodore Pellerin, Ryan Eggold and Sharon Van Etten had joined the cast of the film, with Eliza Hittman directing from a screenplay she wrote. Adele Romanski and Sara Murphy produced the film under their Pastel Productions banner, while Rose Garnett, Tim Headington, Elika Portnoy and Alex Orlovsky executive produced the film under their BBC Films and Tango Entertainment banners respectively. Focus Features was slated to distribute.[7]
The film shot for a total of 29 days in March and April 2019, in New York City and Shamokin, Pennsylvania.[8]
Never Rarely Sometimes Always had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2020.[9] It was released in the United States on March 13, 2020.[10] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was released on video on demand on April 3, 2020.[11] Focus debated re-releasing the film theatrically but was concerned about competition once theaters re-opened.[12] It was released through video on demand in the United Kingdom on May 13, 2020, after being initially planned for a theatrical release.[13]
In theaters, Never Rarely Sometimes Always grossed $891,527.[14]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 99% based on 233 reviews, with an average rating of 8.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Powerfully acted and directed, Never Rarely Sometimes Always reaffirms writer-director Eliza Hittman as a filmmaker of uncommon sensitivity and grace."[15] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 92 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[16]
Critics praised the film for its approach to visual storytelling and naturalistic acting, particularly the film’s avoidance of polemic to focus on the lives of and the bond between its two female lead characters. Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times wrote, “What makes ‘Never Rarely Sometimes Always’ so forceful — and certainly the most searingly confrontational American drama about abortion rights in recent memory — is its quality of understatement, its determination to build its argument not didactically but cinematically.”[17] Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair voiced a similar sentiment, saying “It’s rare that the topic of abortion gets such a empathetic and holistic film treatment: passionate but unsentimental, principled without any predetermined moral.”[18] Chang concluded, “if the picture Hittman paints is stirringly bleak, it is not without its passages of tentative hope, even grace.”[17]
Karen Han of Polygon wrote, “The slow build-up — and Autumn and Skylar’s stoicism through it all — makes it all the more affecting when the reasoning behind the film’s title is revealed.”[19]
Naomi Fry of The New Yorker said, “In its profound sensitivity to everyday detail, ‘Never Rarely Sometimes Always’ makes the viewer aware of the mundane challenges that dog every step its heroines manage to take along that path—from the large, cheap suitcase bumped along with difficulty on subway steps, to the dwindling-down-to-nothing funds in a secreted-away pouch, to the flutter-lidded, late-night dozes taken on the subway, in lieu of a place to stay, waiting out the hours.”[20]
Critic Mark Kermode gave the film a 5-star rating and wrote, “Perfectly pitched and sensitively played, this is truthful, powerful and profoundly moving fare from a film-maker at the very top of her game” and added the film “is perhaps best described as a perfectly observed portrait of female friendship; a coming-of-age story with road-movie inflections, piercingly honest and deeply affecting.”[21] Kermode also lauded cinematographer Hélène Louvart, “who here manages to capture moments of intense intimacy in unobtrusive fashion. Through her camera, we become both observers and participants – watching these young women’s lives but also empathetically experiencing their shared journeys.”[21]
Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
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Sundance Film Festival | February 1, 2020 | U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award: Neo-Realism | Eliza Hittman | Won | [22] |
U.S. Dramatic Competition Grand Jury Prize | Nominated | ||||
Berlin International Film Festival | March 1, 2020 | Golden Bear | Nominated | [23] | |
Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize | Won | ||||
Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Awards | July 2, 2020 | Best Picture | Never Rarely Sometimes Always | Nominated | [24] |
Best Actress | Sidney Flanigan | Nominated | |||
Best Female Director | Eliza Hittman | Nominated | |||
Best Original Screenplay | Nominated | ||||
Boston Society of Film Critics Awards | December 13, 2020 | Best Actress | Sidney Flanigan | Won | [25] |
IndieWire Critics Poll | December 14, 2020 | Best Film | Never Rarely Sometimes Always | Runner-up | [26] |
Best Director | Eliza Hittman | 3rd Place | |||
Best Cinematography | Hélène Louvart | 5th Place | |||
Best Screenplay | Eliza Hittman | 3rd Place | |||
New York Film Critics Circle Awards | December 18, 2020 | Best Actress | Sidney Flanigan | Won | [27] |
Best Screenplay | Eliza Hittman | Won | |||
Los Angeles Film Critics Association | December 20, 2020 | Best Screenplay | Runner-up | [28] | |
Florida Film Critics Circle | December 21, 2020 | Breakout Award | Sidney Flanigan | Won | [29] |
Chicago Film Critics Association | December 21, 2020 | Most Promising Performer | Won | [30] | |
Best Original Screenplay | Eliza Hittman | Won | |||
Alliance of Women Film Journalists | January 4, 2021 | Best Film | Never Rarely Sometimes Always | Nominated | [31] |
Best Woman Director | Eliza Hittman | Nominated | |||
Best Woman's Screenwriter | Nominated | ||||
Best Woman's Breakthrough Performance | Sidney Flanigan | Won | |||
National Society of Film Critics | January 9, 2021 | Best Actress | 3rd Place | [32] | |
Best Screenplay | Eliza Hittman | Won | |||
Best Film | Never Rarely Sometimes Always | 3rd Place | |||
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards | January 11, 2021 | Breakthrough Artist | Sidney Flanigan | Nominated | [33] |
Gotham Awards | January 11, 2021 | Best Feature | Never Rarely Sometimes Always | Nominated | [34] |
Breakthrough Actor | Sidney Flanigan | Nominated | |||
St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards | January 17, 2021 | Best Scene | Never Rarely Sometimes Always | Nominated | [35] |
San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle | January 18, 2021 | Best Picture | Nominated | [36] | |
Best Director | Eliza Hittman | Nominated | |||
Best Original Screenplay | Nominated | ||||
Best Actress | Sidney Flanigan | Nominated | |||
Houston Film Critics Society | January 18, 2021 | Best Picture | Never Rarely Sometimes Always | Nominated | [37] |
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role | Sidney Flanigan | Nominated | |||
Online Film Critics Society | January 25, 2021 | Best Picture | Never Rarely Sometimes Always | 4th Place | [38] [39] |
Best Director | Eliza Hittman | Nominated | |||
Best Actress | Sidney Flanigan | Nominated | |||
Best Supporting Actress | Talia Ryder | Nominated | |||
Best Original Screenplay | Eliza Hittman | Nominated | |||
National Board of Review | January 26, 2021 | Top 10 Independent Films | Never Rarely Sometimes Always | Won | [40] |
Breakthrough Performance | Sidney Flanigan | Won | |||
New York Film Critics Online | January 26, 2021 | Top 10 Films | Never Rarely Sometimes Always | Won | [41] |
Hollywood Music in Media Awards | January 27, 2021 | Best Original Song in an Independent Film | Sharon Van Etten (for "Staring At A Mountain") | Nominated | [42] |
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association | February 8, 2021 | Best Youth Performance | Sidney Flanigan | Nominated | [43] |
Talia Ryder | Nominated | ||||
Seattle Film Critics Association Awards | February 15, 2021 | Best Picture | Never Rarely Sometimes Always | Nominated | [44] |
Best Actress in a Leading Role | Sidney Flanigan | Nominated | |||
Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Talia Ryder | Nominated | |||
Best Youth Performance | Nominated | ||||
British Independent Film Awards | February 18, 2021 | Best International Independent Film | Never Rarely Sometimes Always | Nominated | [45] |
International Cinephile Society | February 20, 2021 | Best Picture | Never Rarely Sometimes Always | 11th Place | [46] |
Best Actress | Sidney Flanigan | Nominated | |||
Best Supporting Actress | Talia Ryder | Nominated | |||
Best Original Screenplay | Eliza Hittman | Nominated | |||
Hollywood Critics Association | March 5, 2021 | Standout Performance by an Actor or Actress 23 or Under | Sidney Flanigan | Won | [47] |
Best Female Director | Eliza Hittman | Nominated | |||
Critics' Choice Movie Awards | March 7, 2021 | Best Actress | Sidney Flanigan | Nominated | [48] |
Best Young Actor/Actress | Talia Ryder | Nominated | |||
Best Original Screenplay | Eliza Hittman | Nominated | |||
Women Film Critics Circle | March 7, 2021 | Best Movie About Women | Never Rarely Sometimes Always | Runner-up | [49] |
Best Movie By A Woman | Nominated | ||||
Best Woman Storyteller (Screenwriting Award) | Eliza Hittman | Won | |||
Courage in Filmmaking | Runner-up | ||||
Georgia Film Critics Association | March 12, 2021 | Best Actress | Sidney Flanigan | Nominated | [50] |
Breakthrough Award | Nominated | ||||
Austin Film Critics Association | March 19, 2021 | Best Film | Never Rarely Sometimes Always | 5th Place | [51] |
Best Director | Eliza Hittman | Nominated | |||
The Robert R. “Bobby” McCurdy Memorial Breakthrough Artist Award | Sidney Flanigan | Nominated | |||
Dorian Awards | April 18, 2021 | Best Screenplay | Eliza Hittman | Nominated | [52] |
Best Unsung Film | Never Rarely Sometimes Always | Nominated | |||
Best Film Performance — Actress | Sidney Flanigan | Nominated | |||
“We’re Wilde About You!” Rising Star Award | Nominated | ||||
Film Independent Spirit Awards | April 22, 2021 | Best Feature | Adele Romanski and Sara Murphy | Nominated | [53] |
Best Director | Eliza Hittman | Nominated | |||
Best Female Lead | Sidney Flanigan | Nominated | |||
Best Supporting Female | Talia Ryder | Nominated | |||
Best Screenplay | Eliza Hittman | Nominated | |||
Best Cinematography | Hélène Louvart | Nominated | |||
Best Editing | Scott Cummings | Nominated | |||
Gold Derby Awards | N/A | Best Picture | Never Rarely Sometimes Always | Nominated | [54] |
Best Actress | Sidney Flanigan | Nominated | |||
Best Original Screenplay | Eliza Hittman | Nominated | |||
Best Breakthrough Performer | Sidney Flanigan | Nominated |
Working on a production budget of less than $5m [...].
Films directed by Eliza Hittman | |
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