Unplanned : A Movie Review

Last week the movie Unplanned opened in theatres and I went to see it with a number of others.  I am no movie critic, but I wanted to offer some thoughts about this film as you consider seeing it.

First, I am glad this film was made.  Abortion is a stain on the conscience of America like none other.  It is the vilest atrocity our country as ever witnessed.  We regularly need to let the number 60 million sink in.  60 million babies have been murdered in America.  The worldwide number of abortions (1.5 billion) is more than the causalities of every war ever fought.  And this staggering number of abortions isn’t spread out over centuries as all those wars have been, but just over the last 40 years.   We are witnessing a holocaust of proportions the world has never known.  Legal, safe, and rare has been a mantra in America but only two of the three have happened (and “safe” is debatable).  Two out of three isn’t bad, right?  No, it isn’t bad, it is horrific.   Therefore, I am thankful whenever there is another message that undercuts abortion’s firm foothold in his country.   

So how well does this movie achieve its goal?  Unfortunately, this is a subjective call.  We are in the realm of art and that means much is in the eye of the beholder.  But there are a few things that can be said.  First, what can we say about its production value?  I think we can say that it has avoided the dreaded distinction of the “cheesy Christian movie.”  Everyone recognizes that the Christian world has not excelled in the filmmaking arena, and really good Christian movies are few and far between.  Unplanned is a well-made movie.  However, I don’t think it is a breath-takingly spectacular movie.  Let’s be honest, truly great pieces of art are always rare.  Greatness wouldn’t be greatness if it happened every Tuesday.  We normally expect something well done and worth our money.  If we are floored with mind-blowing power and beauty then we watch it again and tell everyone about it.  But we don’t really expect greatness every time we come to a movie or book or whatever.  The only reason that is a problem here is that the content is so heavy, and so controversial, that if it is not irrefutably great people are going to highlight every little thing they don’t like.  It is a good movie.  If the choice was to make a bunch of good movies, or just one or two great movies, I think we would have to go with the many good movies.  The great ones happen when many attempts are being made.

This brings up another issue that creates a lot of difficultly for the movie.  “Propaganda” is a word that is thrown around when discussing Unplanned.  Why is that?  It is due to what I would call a catch-22 problem.  There is a saying in film business, “Show, don’t tell.” If there is too much straight forward “telling” it becomes preachy and what could be called propaganda.  The saying, “Show, don’t tell” is understandable for movies.  Movies are primarily a visual medium and if the message can’t be powerfully seen then what is the point of using visuals?  What makes this a catch-22 problem for Unplanned is that the message is so unbreakably tied to the visual realities, ones that are gut-wrenchingly bloody, it can hardly avoid the charge of propaganda.  This is the same charge leveled at people who use photographs of aborted babies.  They are charged with being crass, abrasive, and tactless. It is just too blunt.  Yes, those pictures are undeniably disturbing, but they are also undeniably true.  Abortion is butchery.  So this movie is doing its level best to show you, not just tell you, the realities of abortion.  But the message tied into all those visuals is so clear and so undeniable that the subtle and clever ways Hollywood loves to see a message conveyed are supremely difficult with this topic.

One of the movie’s greatest strengths is its exposure of Planned Parenthood.  This movie is based on the real life story of Abby Johnson who worked at Planned Parenthood for eight years, then left to fight for saving babies.  The practices, policies, and methods of Planned Parenthood are detailed from someone who didn’t just witness it, but supported and advanced it.  This movie is a massive blow to this despicable organization.  There is no amount of good services for women that can justify or excuse the death that is carried in their operating rooms, and this is shown in a powerful way in this film. 

I do have a couple criticisms for this movie.  The biggest and most distressing critic is that this is another depiction of a gospel-less Christianity.  This movie has a strong spiritual element.  You see a lot of praying, examples of caring and patient Christians, and we are even taken into a church service momentarily to hear the preacher preaching.  But when it gets down to the most fundamental issue of forgiveness, it gives us a vague and groundless hope, which is a far cry from the rock-solid certainties of the gospel.  The key moment is when the weight of guilt comes crashing down on Abby, the main character, as she contemplates her culpability in the death of thousands of babies.  She asks how God can forgive her.  This is when the gospel should rush in, but instead ambiguity reigns.  She, along with all those watching this movie, are told God can forgive because he is God.  That is not an answer.  You could have just as well said that God will not forgive because he is God.  His justice demands punishment for sin.  If you leave out Jesus, the cross, repentance and faith then you don’t have a certain hope of forgiveness.  This movie was made with a strong spiritual theme, but it totally failed where it mattered. 

Secondly, I think this movie missed a key feature of the pro-life agenda by not showing care for unwed mothers.  One of the most common critiques against the pro-life cause is that it isn’t really pro-life because it doesn’t care about the life of the mother and all the difficulties she will endure if the baby is born.  This movie doesn’t help reverse that caricature.  Mothers are seen being convinced to keep their babies, but we don’t see the work that is done by the countless crisis-pregnancy centers all over America.  

I think this movie is a worthy work that is a helpful addition to the pro-life cause.  While it is not a truly Christian film, it does support what we care about as Christians: the protection and dignity of all those made in the image of God, from conception onward.