Jane is the ultimate anonymous first name. In 1960s Chicago, anonymous, determined women use it as a codename for a procedure forbidden by law: abortion. Starring Elizabeth Banks and Sigourney Weaver, the film chronicles the journey of these outlaws from another era, narrated by filmmaker Phyllis Nagy.
• Also read: “We are Jane”: The union (of women) is strength
Author of the screenplay for “Carol”, screenwriter and director of the TV movie “Mrs. Harris,” playwright and director of many plays, Phyllis Nagy decided to go behind the camera with We Are Jane, a screenplay she didn’t write.
“The script had all the elements that I put into my writing myself, that is, a light touch to talk about very serious subjects. I was intrigued by the idea of the collective in this group of women coming together to solve a problem,” the filmmaker told QMI Agency.
“We are Jane” is based on a true story, the “Jane” in Chicago in the 1960s that allowed women to have safe abortions. At the time, abortion was illegal in the United States. “Jane”, the true code name of a network of women determined to help each other, was the person to call if for whatever reason you didn’t want to carry a pregnancy to term. In the feature film, Joy, played by Elizabeth Banks, is a traditional housewife of the time who is unable to continue her pregnancy. She visits the “Janes”, meets Virginia (Sigourney Weaver), one of the group’s founders, and begins helping them, even learning how to perform an abortion.
“There’s no unwelcome melodrama, hysteria, etc. in the script, all those things that sometimes characterize theme films that focus on women, especially feature films that deal with abortion,” she emphasized.
Abortion is a quintessential woman’s issue, a right that is currently under fierce attack in the United States, and a sensitive issue that women need to address, says Phyllis Nagy.
“I think it’s high time women were allowed to make films about women’s issues. I believe that the “male gaze” [NDLR: le regard masculin sur le corps féminin] is a reality regardless of man, whether he is an ally or not. We just don’t have enough women’s work dealing with these… shall we say… “hot” issues.”
“A film like ‘We Are Jane’, co-written by a woman and a man who is also a doctor, is important. It’s important to let works like this breathe in today’s world.”
And just days before the famous midterm elections in the United States, which could seal the return of the conservative right to Congress, Phyllis Nagy wants to remain realistic.
“I’m not optimistic. I’m never that pleasantly surprised when we get a majority in the Senate and win a few more seats in the House of Representatives. I hope that the women of this country will vote on abortion. Otherwise we are heading for even more difficult times.”
We Are Jane has been in cinemas since October 28th.