Oh my, this was a powerful movie. Hello Catholiccontriversy and I happened to see the Kermit Gosnell movie was out now, so I went to see it. For those of you who don't know, this is the story of the 2013 murder trial of abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, and it was crazy. I remember this trial; I didn't follow it very closely because I was a college student and had other things demanding my attention, but I remember hearing about the atrocities and thinking "what a monster." Yes, this is a movie about an abortion doctor, but it is SO much more. (Minor spoiler warning, but any research into the actual case will reveal what I discuss).
First off, this is a "real movie" with a "real story." What do I mean by that? Well...conservative movies have a history of being...not all that good. Why is that? Because they tend to be "I want to tell a message" before "I want to tell a story." A good movie needs to tell the audience a story, and any political message needs to come second to the story; it's a "carriage before the horse" thing. With this movie however, it's a story. There is a defined "here is the set-up of the world this story takes place in, here is the precipitating event that sets the story in motion, here are the internal and external conflicts that contribute to the rising story, here is the climax, here is the resolution." Additionally, the conflicts experienced are not based on "the poor conservative against a liberal world" kind of conflict that make-up most conservative movies; these are characters that just want to seek justice and need to set aside their politics to get justice (multiple times in the beginning they say "but you're pro-choice"). It's a story about law and order. These police see horrendous medical conditions and other criminally negligent actions that resulted in people dying, and they want to bring the perpetrator to justice. It didn't feel too far off from the kinds of stories one would find in CSI or, well, Law and Order; it just happens to be about a notorious abortion doctor. So yeah, it's not your typical "pure flix cinema snob fluff movie."
Another criticism one might lob at it is "anti-abortion right wing propaganda," so lets analyze that. Yes, it is made by conservative pro-life actors and film makers, and it paints abortion in a REALLY nasty light. However, it's based on a real life story, and from what I know about the actual Kermit Gosnell case, this is all true. In the credits at the end, they show pictures and video of the real crime scenes all of which are key points from the movie. From what I remember the news coverage being (of which there was not much) from the time, all the accusations were brought against the real life Gosnell. It would definitely be right-wing anti-abortion propaganda if it wasn't so accurate. Additionally, there is one scene in the court room that defeats this criticism. One of the witnesses is an abortion doctor from a different facility, and she discusses how her facility handles abortion. At her facility, all "use once" medical devices are used once, and they do not terminate pregnancy after the legal cut-off, and all medication is prescribed and dispensed by licensed medical professionals; all accusations that were brought against Dr. Gosnell. She is not painted as a cold blooded killer like Kermit Gosnell; instead she is just painted as a medical professional that is offering a service to her patients and does not want her profession to be tainted by a bad actor. If this was just strait-up pro-life propaganda, that doctor would not be portrayed like that. No, this movie just wants to say "Kermit Gosnell was an absolute monster that did really horrible things, and he was able to get away with it by playing politics to his advantage."
So now that I've hopefully established that this isn't just a right-wing puff movie, how does it actually stand as a movie? Oh it stands REALLY well. First off, the cinematography is amazing. The thing that showcases it the best is the raid on the clinic and Gosnell's house. The lighting is eerie, the areas are claustrophobic, and the camera work accentuates it. There's also this part during the clinic raid where Dean Cain is filming things on a little hand-held camcorder, and we see it through that perspective, with the lower video quality and shaky cam and everything. It really drives home what it was like to be there. Then there are the scenes with Gosnell outside the courtroom. The way they do close-ups and frame the shots are reminiscent of Silence of the Lambs. It really brings out the acting.
Then there's the acting. Oh man, The actor who played Dr. Gosnell did an amazing job. I don't know how the real Kermit Gosnell talked and behaved, but this Gosnell really accentuated the deranged criminal behavior. So many times he would say something with such an evil smile, that just sent chills down your spine. Then during the house raid when the authorities wanted to go into his cellar, how he nonchalantly said "oh I wouldn't recommend going down there, it's messy" and the place is an absolute flee-infested sewer (of which the police rush out of there as fast as possible because of health reasons), and then he starts playing classical music on his piano and casually says "I said it wasn't a good idea to go down there." Everyone else does a great job as well (there are a lot of emotional scenes that felt real), but Earl Billings really steals the show at portraying the absolute monster that is Kermit Gosnell.
Now I need to talk about the MPAA rating. This movie is somehow rated PG-13. The only way I can figure they were able to get away with PG-13 is because they don't show anything. The worst we ever see is a dead flee infested cat, fetal feet in specimen jars, and the back of aborted fetal heads (which look like really small baby heads). We never see Baby Boy A (though the picture is available on the website), or what's inside all the medical waste bags that are scattered throughout the facility, or the abortion procedure, or anything else all that graphic. There is some swearing in the beginning, but not much else. But here's the thing, this movie implies a lot, and as Pokematic said in one of the Peanut Butter podcasts, "the difference between a PG-13 story and R story is if it's implicit or explicit." It suggests and describes everything that went on at Dr. Gosnell's abortion clinic without going into the graphic detail to give it an R rating. So much of it is REALLY uncomfortable. I have seen R-rated exploitation movies that made me less uneasy. It is not an easy film to watch, so parents, I recommend seeing this first before letting your teen see this, and I definitely advise against letting a pre-teen or younger see it.
All in all, this is a great movie. It is a gripping courtroom crime drama that is all based on real events. The acting and directing made for a really chilling movie about a mass murderer who used the politics of the situation to get away with it for years. It is an excellently made movie that should be seen by everyone over the age of 18 (with ages 13-17 done at their parent's discretion). Even if you're pro-choice, watch this to see how an evil man used your politics to get away with atrocities. It's not just pro-life VS pro-choice, it's how the touchy nature of the abortion debate was used by a psychopath to almost get away with murder, all based on real life events. This has been catholiccontriversy, signing off, and may God bless you.
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