Credit: Roadside Attractions
Under Her Eye
Call Jane: Elizabeth Banks and Sigourney Weaver fight for abortion rights in the harrowing new movie trailer
3 years ago
1 min read
Starring Elizabeth Banks and Sigourney Weaver, timely new movie Call Jane tells the story of the fight for abortion rights in 60s America.
Directed by Academy award-nominated Phyllis Nagy (Carol) and inspired by real-life events, Call Jane stars Elizabeth Banks as a housewife in 1968 Chicago whose dangerous pregnancy leaves her with no choice but to seek an illegal abortion. On her journey, she discovers The Janes, an underground collective that helps women access safe and affordable abortion care in the face of even the most insurmountable of challenges.
A culturally relevant story that comes at a significant moment in US history, Call Jane looks set to show audiences how hard-won rights can be rolled back if we’re not vigilant about progress. Take a look at the official synopsis:
“Chicago, 1968. As the city and the nation are poised on the brink of political upheaval, suburban housewife Joy (Elizabeth Banks) leads an ordinary life with her husband and daughter. When Joy’s pregnancy leads to a life-threatening heart condition, she must navigate an all-male medical establishment unwilling to terminate her pregnancy in order to save her life.
“Her journey for a solution leads her to Virginia (Sigourney Weaver), an independent visionary fiercely committed to women’s health, and Gwen (Wunmi Mosaku), an activist who dreams of a day when all women will have access to abortion, regardless of their ability to pay. Joy is so inspired by their work, she decides to join forces with them, putting every aspect of her life on the line.”
In the first trailer for the drama, we’re transported back to the uncertain years that preceded the Supreme Court’s Roe v Wade ruling on abortion laws in America. The stirrings of late-60s social change are in the air as the state fights to control women’s bodies. In the middle of it all is Joy, who contacts The Janes after being refused an emergency termination for her life-threatening pregnancy.
We also meet the fearless and determined women who make up The Janes, including Sigourney Weaver’s Virginia and Wunmi Mosaku’s Gwen.
It’s “life or death for some of them”, one character says as the women try to decide which desperate women to help. “It’s life or death for all of them,” replies Gwen.
“We have something that works,” Virginia says later on as the police conduct a raid on The Janes’ headquarters. “We are of use. Yeah, it’s not perfect, but it works. I’m not scared of jail. I’m scared there won’t be anyone left to answer the phone.”
Call Jane comes in the wake of HBO’s recent documentary The Janes, which told the story of the underground collective of women through firsthand accounts with its members. Throughout the 1960s, the group came together to secretly provide nearly 12,000 women and girls with safe and secure abortions.
Call Jane arrives in cinemas on 28 October
Image: Wilson Webb/Roadside Attractions
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