To be frank, the films thrown into the “Christian” genre are usually pretty terrible. As religious people, we support the movie anyway. We ignore the bad acting and campy feel-good writing that turns off secular people at the drop of a hat.
But “Unplanned” is not that movie.
The film, for those who are uninitiated, follows the real-life journey of Planned Parenthood defector Abby Johnson from abortion mouthpiece to pro-life crusader.
I was blown away by how effectively “Unplanned” manages to be genuinely entertaining, expose all-things abortion, and even offer a valid critique of the pro-life fringes. Actress Ashely Bratcher is spectacular, followed only by the performance of Robia Scott, who plays a beautiful villain as the Planned Parenthood executive overseeing Johnson. Much like the abortion industry itself, the character on the outside is neat and beautiful, but ugly, vicious, and money-driven just below the surface.
If you’re uptight about spoilers, now is the time to skip this paragraph. The most important scene to me was not the powerful ultrasound-guided abortion that changed Johnson’s life forever, which has been well-advertised — but a different abortion depicted in the film that is induced by pills. As Johnson described in her book, abortion via pill, somehow, sounds more “natural,” as if it’s not really an abortion. This is a dangerous and outrageous misconception to be held by so many young people — one unequivocally dispelled in the film.
The friend I saw the movie with, who actually works in film and is understandably critical of so-called “Christian” flicks, told me it was the most “emotionally draining” movie he’s ever seen.
I couldn’t agree more, but not for reasons you might think. There are more suspenseful, thrilling, and gory movies —sure. But “Unplanned” is so emotional because it reveals a dark, deadly conspiracy that we ignore on a daily basis in the present. We walk by literal death clinics to protest chicken sandwiches, for goodness’ sake. We promote Planned Parenthood to our children through the public school system. It’s a genocide happening right under our noses, in real time.
And, yes, that’s a loaded word: Genocide. As pro-life as I am, I’ve generally been wary of calling abortion a genocide, though from my logical understanding it always was. But something about the word just didn’t emotionally fit due to how cloaked in secrecy abortion is in the mainstream. This film changed my mind. Abortion is a not only a genocide, it’s a conspiratorial genocide perpetrated by preying on the voiceless and their vulnerable mothers. Those at the top understand what this is: Abortion is a business, and a lucrative one at that.
The film will leave you drained and oddly wanting more all at the same time. It will leave you deeply disturbed and depressed and yet hopeful and more faithful than before. Prayers work; exposure works. And as the saying goes, sunlight is the best disinfectant.
“No one will be able to walk away after seeing this movie and say, ‘I didn’t know,’” Johnson once said of her hopes for “Unplanned.”
Well that’s exactly what the film accomplishes.
There is no going back.
