Movie Review

Vera Drake

Vera Drake is a film that questions your stance on abortions. Are you for them, or against them? That could be a crucial factor in whether or not you fall for this story emotionally. I actually had a misconception about what this film was about, and the film surprised me, but not in a good way. I was let down by its simplicity, and since my view of abortions is so split down the middle, the picture didn?t capture me the way I hoped. This is a very slow-moving film (and is a dark one too) that can either make you break down or put you to sleep.

Vera Drake is a lovely woman at heart who is nice to everyone; she constantly has a smile on her face, whether it?s a smirk or a wide grin, loving the day. She always wants to help others and she is a very morally just person; however, she does help teenage girls with abortions, performing them manually under the table, so that nobody finds out. But when a girl nearly dies from the procedure, it is no longer a secret. Vera is questioned by the police due to the procedures she has performed for so long, which leads to a question of whether or not she should be imprisoned.

The film is an argument about whether a woman?s punishment should be terminated due to her good-natured, wouldn?t-hurt-a-fly personality, as she engages in an illegal activity, an act that some would view as immoral. That?s foundation for a controversial film, and it is a controversial story, which means that some people will react to the facts compassionately and some might not.

I sometimes like dark, intense stories, and even ones with a slow pace. In the Bedroom (A-) is an excellent example of a slow-moving character study that I absolutely loved, and it?s not for everyone; it takes a certain level of patience and adoration for subtle tones. Vera Drake as a film can take a lot of patience to get through, but that is also if its subject matter does not hook you, and for me it didn't. This is one of those films that I could have really liked because I don?t always have to be entertained (even depressing stories can play well with me on nice, happy days). But whereas I might normally praise a film like this due to its courage, I was actually disappointed in its scope.

Though Imelda Staunton delivers a superb performance as Vera, I wasn?t pulled in to the abortion situation, partly because I found the early segments of the film boring. The story sets up the relationships within her family, and those subplots are mostly just dull (except the rape incident), and it felt like it was too much of an obvious setup. Sympathy is a goal in any film like this, but here I was just seeing through everything, knowing where it was all going.

When I saw In the Bedroom, I knew very little about the story, and the incident in the first act made a big impact on me as a result. But with that film I also cared about everything that unfolded, thanks to the writing and performances (and direction). With Vera Drake, the performances are good but I wasn?t drawn in to every situation. Every scene just felt very arty, and kind of overly arty, and I don?t always care about everything in very showy art films. There?s a tendency in old black and white films (prior to 1960) for characters to just sit or stand around and talk to each other. Many of those films bore me because the topics just aren?t interesting, and with Vera Drake it was a similar situation.

The reason I was disappointed in this film is because there?s not much to the story. We know Vera very well but what the script doesn?t do is analyze the pros and cons of abortions. We know she did something that is perceived to be bad and is forced to be in court for it, but besides from the few comments that her family gives toward the issue, this film is devoid of commentary. It?s just such a simple-minded film in terms of a plot, though it is executed finely by its cast.

I could give the film a reasonable rating for the performances, but I honestly left the theater rather unscathed. I was vaguely depressed about the whole situation, but there were too many areas the story could?ve improved on; and pretty soon, Vera Drake was out of my mind. If you are interested in Staunton?s spot-on performance, you might want to give this film a try; but if you crave a more intimate character/subject study, then I suggest looking elsewhere.

Lee's Grade: C+

A	0.4%
B	30.0%
C	61.7%
D	8.0%
F	0.0%