Vera Drake

We actually do get a few smaller films here in Normal, IL (when you read that, you're supposed to read it as Normal, I L, the two letters their own separate syllable, as in Philadelphia, P A). Saw Vera Drake last night at the Normal Theater in, you guessed it, downtown Normal.

The movie's a bit slow at times, but I guess that's how life is, yes? The title character is a wife, mother, and domestic in 1950s London who "helps young girls out" when they find themselves "in the family way." What I appreciate about this film is its relative lack of polarizing arguments about abortion. What we see instead is one woman's conviction playing itself out in ways she never intended. Instead of empathizing with the young women Vera Drake helps, the audience is forced to empathize with Drake herself. There's no question about her intentions. And there's no question, in the eyes of the law, about punishment. But there are questions that fuzz up that middle space, the human space.

As I look back over what I just wrote, I have to laugh at my attempts at taking on the discourse of movie reviews. I don't know the actress's name, and I was too lazy to go look it up, so I avoided it. Ah well, you probably didn't even notice that.