Flanigan: Debut role ‘life-changing’
It’s one of the most powerful scenes of the past year, in one of its most powerful films.
A teenage girl answers intake questions from a provider in a small Planned Parenthood office. She has been strong until now. Then, some of the standard inquiries, to which she can choose a response among “Never,” “Rarely,” “Sometimes” or “Always,” dredge up hurts that are far from healed. There’s no fancy editing, showy cinematography or swelling score. Like so much of “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” it simply feels like truth captured on-screen. And it demands much of the movie’s lead: a novice named Sidney Flanigan.
“It is the first acting experience I’ve ever had,” said Flanigan, 22. “When we were doing the intake scene, she (writer-director Eliza Hittman) made sure I had a private room to be in before we did it, because usually there’s all that commotion on set. It’s not like we had trailers or anything,” she said. “We were shooting in Planned Parenthood, so they gave me an office to sit in, and she came in and ran the scene with me. It was little things like that Eliza was conscious of.”
“Never Rarely” follows Autumn (Flanigan), a Pennsylvania teen who discovers she is pregnant and decides to have an abortion. Unable to have the procedure in her home state, she travels to New York City with her cousin and best friend, Skylar (Talia Ryder).
Hittman met Flanigan while working on a documentary in Flanigan’s native Buffalo, New York, in 2013. The filmmaker followed the singer-songwriter on social media over the years, then asked her to audition for the role of Autumn.
Flanigan said, “At first, I was very thrown off, because I just barely remembered who these people were. I had never acted before; I didn’t think it was something I was capable of. Then I Skyped with Eliza and read the script, and I felt a lot more interested after that: ‘Oh, this is a really great story.’
“It ended up being a super-amazing and transformative experience. It was life-changing.”
Raw ability is one thing, but the film requires emotional availability to which trained, veteran actors aspire. And it’s all accomplished with a simplicity that reads as honesty.
“She showed an intuitive understanding of dramatic beats and turning points and intimacy with the camera,” Hittman said. “She had a palpable inner world and struggle. As audience members …
we are reading thought across the screen. There was always a lot happening inside her head.”
Flanigan is seeing that the film is having an impact on others. “I’ve had girls message me on Instagram or friends of mine reach out and tell me really personal stories about things that have happened to them that they related to in the film, that made them feel validated and heard and seen, and that was really amazing. It’s getting through to people that really need it.”
Jan. 17 birthdays: Actor Betty White is 99. Actor James Earl Jones is 90. TV host Maury Povich is 82. Guitarist Mick Taylor is 72. Comedian Steve Harvey is 64. Singer Susanna Hoffs is 62. Actor Jim Carrey is 59. DJ Tiesto is 52. Musician Kid Rock is 50. Actor Zooey Deschanel is 41. Singer Ray J is 40. Actor Kelly Marie Tran is 32.