If These Walls Could Talk

Rating:
Summary: Hauntingly memorable
Review: Abortion's current sound bite nature means that both sides of the debate forget the women wanting control of their own bodies--and lives.

Graphically showing how government decisions impact private citizens, this film places women back into the center of this social issue. The audience is constantly reminded each of the women in the vignettes is a three-dimensional person with dreams and aspirations; only a callous person would believe women undertake abortions for fun.

I have previously seen many horror movies, but nothing prepared me for grim "1952". Discovering she is pregnant, nurse Claire Donnelly tried to obtain a safe illegal abortion. Repeatedly suggesting death/mourning (ironically in a supposedly 'pro-life' era) Claire's world is intentionally drab and the frequently drawn curtains also convey secrecy and shame. The white nightgown worn on the night of her septic abortion made her already pale complexion even more ghostly. Watching this segment is still very hard, and sensitive viewers should not eat during this segment.

Demonstrating a clear difference between pro-choice and pro-abortion personal belief systems, "1974" is the most complex segment. Non-traditional college student Barbara Barrows wants to have it all, but is not initially sure she wants another child or a newly legalized abortion procedure. Barrows is trying to be open minded about her gender's new possibilities (she uses her class to explore women's issues and reads Our Bodies Our Selves) but she is also wrestling with her cultural and generational conscience which saw abortion as taboo. I could have done without the one-dimensional portrayal of 'feminism' through Barrows's teen daughter (who believes abortion is the best option for all women) but overall thought this piece was essential to the abortion issue's political reality. Having the right to choose does not mean much if anybody on any side of the issue forces you into something you cannot live with.

Maybe it's my generational experience, but "1996" was overwhelmingly cobbled from current headlines. Having seen the real-life clinic violence on my nightly news, I believed this piece was largely redundant. It was however interesting to see the difference between the robotically peaceful (but creepy) female anti-choice Clinic protestors and the inevitably psychopathic male protestor (who somehow was able to get into the procedures area). Obviously unable to afford many of the security measures used by real-life women's clinics (metal detectors) the fictional women's health clinic was ultimately besieged by a so-called 'silent type' instead of the loud protestors it had invested so much time and resources preparing against.

The house itself is metaphor for the changing reproductive rights status:

A) In 1952 the house/choice is dilapidated and has wasted potential. Although it could look nice, it is only half finished and (again) invokes hiding/shame.

B) In 1974 the house/choice looks very put together and strong. This environment is inherently very nurturing and friendly. You really want the house/choice to stay in this condition forever.

C)In 1996 the house/choice initially look okay, but closer inspection reveal time (state/federal legislation) has worn it down and unless somebody quickly intervenes, we are on our way back to 1952. The catch is that some people in my generation do not initially realize what a world without choice is really like. We take our reproductive rights for granted until we loose them.

Rating:
Summary: Hauntingly memorable
Review: Abortion�s current sound bite nature means that both sides of the debate forget the women wanting control of their own bodies--and lives.

Graphically showing how government decisions impact private citizens, this film places women back into the center of this social issue. The audience is constantly reminded each of the women in the vignettes is a three-dimensional person with dreams and aspirations; only a callous person would believe women undertake abortions for fun.

I have previously seen many horror movies, but nothing prepared me for grim "1952". Discovering she is pregnant, nurse Claire Donnelly tried to obtain a safe illegal abortion. Repeatedly suggesting death/mourning (ironically in a supposedly 'pro-life' era) Claire's world is intentionally drab and the frequently drawn curtains also convey secrecy and shame. The white nightgown worn on the night of her septic abortion made her already pale complexion even more ghostly. Watching this segment is still very hard, and sensitive viewers should not eat during this segment.

Demonstrating a clear difference between pro-choice and pro-abortion personal belief systems, "1974" is the most complex segment. Non-traditional college student Barbara Barrows wants to have it all, but is not initially sure she wants another child or a newly legalized abortion procedure. Barrows is trying to be open minded about her gender's new possibilities (she uses her class to explore women's issues and reads Our Bodies Our Selves) but she is also wrestling with her cultural and generational conscience which saw abortion as taboo. I could have done without the one-dimensional portrayal of 'feminism' through Barrows's teen daughter (who believes abortion is the best option for all women) but overall thought this piece was essential to the abortion issue's political reality. Having the right to choose does not mean much if anybody on any side of the issue forces you into something you cannot live with.

Maybe it's my generational experience, but "1996" was overwhelmingly cobbled from current headlines. Having seen the real-life clinic violence on my nightly news, I believed this piece was largely redundant. It was however interesting to see the difference between the robotically peaceful (but creepy) female anti-choice Clinic protestors and the inevitably psychopathic male protestor (who somehow was able to get into the procedures area). Obviously unable to afford many of the security measures used by real-life women's clinics (metal detectors) the fictional women's health clinic was ultimately besieged by a so-called 'silent type' instead of the loud protestors it had invested so much time and resources preparing against.

The house itself is metaphor for the changing reproductive rights status:

A) In 1952 the house/choice is dilapidated and has wasted potential. Although it could look nice, it is only half finished and (again) invokes hiding/shame.

B) In 1974 the house/choice looks very put together and strong. This environment is inherently very nurturing and friendly. You really want the house/choice to stay in this condition forever.

C)In 1996 the house/choice initially look okay, but closer inspection reveal time (state/federal legislation) has worn it down and unless somebody quickly intervenes, we are on our way back to 1952. The catch is that some people in my generation do not initially realize what a world without choice is really like. We take our reproductive rights for granted until we loose them.

Rating:
Summary: If These Walls Could Preach & Nag
Review: By the end of this "bold, provocative" film there's such a smug, desperate self-righteousness that I'm surprised the filmmakers didn't morph the faces of pro-lifers into rats and call for their extinction.
Anyone who finds this film balanced has to be so far removed from reality that the STAR WARS films could be considered documentaries for NASA.

To be perfectly honest, I've stayed out of the abortion debate and rarely offer any opinion, but films like this annoy for their arrogance and, yes, condescension for their "enemies." Go ahead and have a deranged religious fanatic make a martyr out of the abortion doctor--but show us what that abortion doctor does as well. Once the audience sees what happens in a clinic, they could understand how wackos can resort to violence.
Bold? Hardly. Provocative? Not this time.
The drama was tossed aside for a political speech.

The biggest problem I have with the film is that young women will watch it as a "educational" film when it barely qualifies as "entertainment."

Rating:
Summary: If These Walls Could Preach & Nag
Review: By the end of this "bold, provocative" film there's such a smug, desperate self-righteousness that I'm surprised the filmmakers didn't morph the faces of pro-lifers into rats and call for their extinction.
Anyone who finds this film balanced has to be so far removed from reality that the STAR WARS films could be considered documentaries for NASA.

To be perfectly honest, I've stayed out of the abortion debate and rarely offer any opinion, but films like this annoy for their arrogance and, yes, condescension for their "enemies." Go ahead and have a deranged religious fanatic make a martyr out of the abortion doctor--but show us what that abortion doctor does as well. Once the audience sees what happens in a clinic, they could understand how wackos can resort to violence.
Bold? Hardly. Provocative? Not this time.
The drama was tossed aside for a political speech.

The biggest problem I have with the film is that young women will watch it as a "educational" film when it barely qualifies as "entertainment."

Rating:
Summary: What a Great Movie, I recommend this to Anyone
Review: I am in the 11th grade and I'm a male. I remember I saw this movie with my mom when I was in the sixth grade, I thought it was one of the best movies I've seen. I mean, abortion is up to the mother, and she has the right to choose. This movie was very well acted and the best of the 3 parts are the ones with Cher and Demi. It's very dramatic and I can't wait until I buy it. I reccommend this movie to anyone who wants to know about what women go through and what they went through to get an abortion.

Rating:
Summary: Very educational
Review: I believe this movie should be shown in schools across the country to show young females (and even males) the aftermath of the choice of abortion.

Rating:
Summary: Yes, a bit political, but...
Review: I found this movie a bit political, yes, but it was a very well done movie. I am pro-life and did not find this movie offensive in any way. I felt for the women portrayed here. Those who complain about the political approach are only mad because it is not their belief. If you feel very strongly against abortion, DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE. Everyone else, watch and think.

Rating:
Summary: Yes, a bit political, but...
Review: I found this movie a bit political, yes, but it was a very well done movie. I am pro-life and did not find this movie offensive in any way. I felt for the women portrayed here. Those who complain about the political approach are only mad because it is not their belief. If you feel very strongly against abortion, DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE. Everyone else, watch and think.

Rating:
Summary: Ouch
Review: I had an abortion at 13 and now (at 23) I counsel women who suffer from Post Abortion Trauma. This movie tries to make abortion seem like it's not a negative thing, however the topic goes well beyond black and white. Don't count on this as your education regarding terminating a pregnancy. Instead volunteer at a clinic and watch the change which befalls women afterwards. The vacant look you see in their eyes will overpower you much more than Demi or Cher. I assure you.

Rating:
Summary: We must never go back...
Review: I haven't found myself crying because of a movie in years, but If These Walls Could Talk did the trick. I was born after Roe v. Wade, so I wasn't around back in the days when a woman didn't have a choice...but the Demi Moore section, when she's driven to such desperation as to attempt to use a knitting needle - it speaks volumes more than any second-hand horror stories ever could.
The movie is biased to the pro-choice side, but it does attempt to show the anti-abortion side, to some extent, specifically in the last section starring Anne Heche and Cher.
It's a powerful movie, and watching it has made me more sure of my pro-choice stance than ever before.