Respond to these rapid questions in our Call Jane quiz and we will tell you which Call Jane character you are. Play it now.
August 1968 has come. Elizabeth Banks’ character, Joy, is dragged outdoors by the noises of a violent demonstration as she and her lawyer husband Will (Chris Messina) are having dinner at a posh partner’s house. Joy is in a confrontation with the yippies, who are shouting in chorus, “The whole world is watching!” Joy is hiding behind a line of police officers. Joy, who has been shielded from the social and political unrest roiling the nation, is startled and terrified. Her openness, receptivity, and curiosity, however, give rise to the possibility that there may be something else there. She is less repulsed and more fascinated.
This scene opens “Call Jane,” and even though it’s not directly related to the main plot, it shows off some of the movie’s best qualities (and there could be more of it). Before Roe v. Wade, when women had little choice but to enter into illegal and dangerous territory in order to make the decisions they needed to concerning their own bodies, “Call Jane,” directed by Phyllis Nagy and written by Hayley Schore and Roshan Sethi, takes place. (The timing of “Call Jane” is, to put it mildly, unsettling.) While Joy’s personal journey is significant—and central—it also occurs in a larger setting that Joy has so far been able to avoid, similar to the opening scene. She is pulled into a larger place by her own circumstances and discovers skills she was unaware she possessed. In other words, “Call Jane” tells the tale of more than just one woman. This works to the movie’s benefit.
Joy and Will have a teenage daughter named Charlotte and a generally pleasant marriage (Grace Edwards). Joy is expecting once more and senses something is wrong. The dreadful news is delivered by her doctor: she has congestive heart failure, and the only treatment that will reverse it is (long pause) “therapeutic termination.” Joy’s chances of surviving the pregnancy are 50/50. Chaos erupts in Joy and Will’s cozy, complacent world. The couple must appear before the hospital board in order to receive approval for the “therapeutic termination” (all men). Joy arrives carrying a platter of cookies and a cheery face. The men decide unanimously against the life-saving surgery and speak about her as if she were not present. Joy isn’t ready to pass away. Will keeps saying, “I wish I could solve this,” while attempting to hold out for the best. He’s unable.
Joy discovers a flyer posted on a telephone pole purely by chance: “Pregnant? Need support? Ring Jane!”
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This is Joy’s entrance into the Jane Collective, a group of Chicago-based women who set up an illicit organization to assist women in getting legal abortions (complete with aftercare). This group’s history is told in the documentary “The Janes,” which was published in June of this year. Joy answers the phone. She is picked up, forced to wear a blindfold, and driven to a location where access is permitted after a covert knock by a woman named Gwen (Wunmi Mosaku). Gwen tells Joy that the “treatment” costs $600 and that the doctor has a terrible bedside manner but is “the best we’ve got.” Cory Michael Smith’s portrayal of Dr. Dean is accurate. Joy is then again blindfolded and taken to a different place where she meets the other “Janes.” Virginia (Sigourney Weaver), the leader, is a battle-weary veteran of numerous political and cultural conflicts. She is tough, realistic, and skilled at dealing with dubious people, such as the Mob (who provide low rents for their secret locations as well as, presumably, protection). Joy keeps insisting that it’s okay for her to go, but Virginia sets the rules and tells her in detail what is happening to her body and what she should anticipate in the coming days.
The hunt to obtain the abortion is the focus of several movies about illegal abortions, such as Cristian Mungiu’s “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” and Elizabeth Hittman’s “Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always.” Joy’s experience in “Call Jane” is resolved within the first thirty minutes. The crucial event that happens next is Joy’s recruitment into the Jane Collective as a participant. It begins gradually. She is requested to pick up and drive a brand-new client to the destination. She initially objects. Joy tells Virginia, “I don’t agree with what you’re doing. Consider that. She gradually becomes ingrained, though, and is given more duties than she initially believes she can manage. Naturally, Will is unaware of what his wife is doing.
Call Jane Quiz
This is Phyllis Nagy’s debut feature-length film; she had previously directed a television film. She received an Oscar nomination for her script for Todd Haynes’ “Carol,” which was based on Patricia Highsmith’s book The Price of Salt. She is perceptive to both the finer points and the requirements of the plot. There are a few distracting side stories, and the tone is a little off-kilter. Lana (Kate Mara), Charlotte’s drunken next-door neighbor, feels unnecessary; she only serves as a contrast and a reminder of the dullness of suburbia women during that turbulent time. Charlotte goes through an astonishing character change. Although Malvina Reynolds’ “What’s Goin’ On Down There” is employed to funny effect, the needle-drops are on the nose, and occasionally the upbeat tone feels avoidant rather than confrontational. However, Nagy is secure where it matters.
Also, you will find out which character are you in this Call Jane quiz.
Now is the time to discuss Elizabeth Banks. Banks has been producing quality, interdisciplinary work for for 20 years. Her breakout performance in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” in which she had a minor role, was enormous. She played completely different kinds of parts in “Magic Mike XXL” and “Love & Mercy” in 2015, and she excelled in both. In particular, “Love & Mercy” is the kind of performance that merits more discussion than it currently receives. Being as transparent as Banks is in “Love & Mercy,” where the entire performance revolves around how intently and intently she listens to others, is difficult. Amazing and emotional work, really. She controls the center in “Call Jane.” She has such easy access to both her own and other people’s emotions. She constantly considers new information. Everything occurs on her face.
The so-called “women’s flicks” of the 1930s and 1940s, which frequently starred Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, or Barbara Stanwyck, are evocative of “Call Jane,” in which a woman experiences hardships and is knocked around by fate before standing shakily on her own two feet. The movie “Call Jane” is about a significant issue, but it’s also a character study of a lady who discovers her strength and realizes that she’s been hiding in the suburbs for too long. Time to lend a hand to others. It’s an excellent character arc.
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Since she last played a character this substantial, Sigourney Weaver embraces it like a well-loved, cozy sweater. She exudes such power on screen and is both fascinating and gentle. When Virginia tries to convince Dr. Dean to lower the fee he charges, they engage in an unusual scene. The less said about it, the better, because not only does it demonstrate Virginia’s ice-cold negotiating skills, but it also reveals Dr. Dean to be a much weirder and more intriguing person than he initially appears to be. People are more complex than that. Nobody merely has an attitude. People are malleable. Sometimes people are made to undergo change. Not everything is as it seems.
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Although it doesn’t seem appropriate to call anything about our precarious time “excellent,” the timing is ideal for a movie like “Call Jane.” Call Jane doesn’t feel like a “period piece” at all, despite the music, the vehicles, and the haircuts.
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For more personality quizzes check this: Terrifier 2 Quiz.
