Sundance 2022: Happening Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Sundance Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

Ever since its premiere at the 2020 festival, Never Rarely Sometimes Always has left such an imprint that will be hard to forget. Abortion has been a topic that has unfortunately remained in the public discourse with a few more films revolved around the topic of abortion also appearing at this year’s festival. Alongside Call Jane and The Janes, Happening is a French period piece where the topic of abortion plays a major theme. Premiering at last year’s Venice Film Festival, the film shares parallels with Never Rarely Sometimes Always, capturing the same intense emotion and desperation under the guise of a coming-of-age story though one in the most dire of terms. In the end, the film was a story of an unwanted pregnancy that acted as a looming dark cloud that threatened a future before it could ever get started. Lifted by a phenomenal lead performance from Anamaria Vartolomei, it may be a hard watch that will almost definitely not be for everyone but it is still an important one despite its period setting and language and culture barrier.

Based on the book by Annie Ernaux, Happening tells the story of a young woman named Anne (Vartolomei), a university student in the early 1960s with aspirations of becoming a big time writer but that future would be put in jeopardy by an unexpected pregnancy that threatened to derail her dreams. At the time, abortions were outlawed therefore she was forced to soldier on with that extra burden while navigating her academic and personal lives. Suffice it to say that it wasn’t easy which meant some creativity regarding how to handle her problem. As her situation became more desperate, that balancing act became increasingly harder and the lengths she was willing to go became increasingly dangerous and harder to watch yet thrilling. Over the course of the film, it was clear that she was essentially alone in this thus one can’t help but feel bad for her as audiences will surely find themselves emotionally invested in Anne and her story.

Vartolomei is what makes Happening work as she effortlessly carries all of the emotional weight while delivering an absolutely fearless performance as Anne. Showing off her range, she captures the vulnerability and desperation of Anne, taking audiences on an emotional roller coaster. Though it may be hard to watch at times, it will be hard to not look away.

There’s a lot happening in Happening but Anamaria Wartolomei is definitely something worth looking out for.

*still courtesy of Sundance

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.