Diwan and co-writer Marcia Romano adapted the screenplay from Annie Ernaux\u2019s semi-autobiographical novel, and the dialogue and Vartolomei\u2019s nuanced performance reinforce the personal impact of laws like France\u2019s abortion ban. When we meet Anne, she\u2019s a bright student with a promising future. She studies hard and wows her professors with her insight, and she has plans for a career that will take her beyond her working-class roots. After a missed period and unexpected symptoms, a male doctor confirms she is pregnant, but he refuses to help when she asks for a way out so she can continue with her studies. He warns of the consequences \u2014 prison if she\u2019s caught and death if the abortion goes wrong \u2014 but Anne tries every path she can to try to end the pregnancy. Weeks tick by, and her options grow fewer and her panic rises higher. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The original French title is L\u2019Evenement<\/em> (literally \u201cthe event\u201d), but calling it Happening<\/em> makes it seem current by the nature of the word \u2014 which it is. France has only just expanded its legal abortion limit to 14 weeks, with President Emmanuel Macron<\/a> still expressing his opposition. In the United States, Roe v. Wade<\/em> will almost certainly be overturned by the Supreme Court this summer. This isn\u2019t just history; it\u2019s frighteningly present for people with uteruses who are already basically denied abortion in large swaths of the country and can\u2019t travel to a state that is more supportive of their right to bodily autonomy. It\u2019s a reminder that banning abortion doesn\u2019t stop it from occurring \u2014 but it stops it from being safe for the pregnant person.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Happening <\/em>is unflinching in its depiction of an illegal abortion. I, however, was not. I flinched multiple times and looked away when the camera refused to do so, with long takes that reflect all of Anne\u2019s pain, fear, and discomfort as her desperation forces her to take risks. Happening<\/em> is classified as a drama, but it occasionally resembles a thriller. Evgueni and Sacha Galperine\u2019s score adds even greater tension and a sense of urgency as title cards chart the pregnancy in weeks. The life Anne had hoped for begins to slip away with each failed attempt and each passing day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite its singular focus, Happening<\/em> isn\u2019t just about abortion \u2014 just as the issue of abortion often isn\u2019t purely about abortion, but instead the ability to control people\u2019s bodies and lives. The abortion ban doesn\u2019t only rob Anne of the choice about what to do with her pregnancy; it also limits what she can choose to do with her whole life. She feels trapped: if she has a child in her early twenties, it will irrevocably alter her path. Becoming a mother limits her to that identity, removing the option to be anything else, especially in the 1960s (though it\u2019s often not much easier now). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite its decades-ago setting, Happening<\/em> has never been more relevant, particularly for audiences in America. Diwan\u2019s drama serves as a warning of what people may experience if Roe<\/em> is overturned. It will literally set us back half a century, a world that Happening<\/em> depicts as harrowing and restrictive.\u00a0![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/happening2-1024x787.jpg\")
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nA-<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n