A PRIVATE MATTER
A film review by Chuck Dowling
Copyright 1997 Chuck Dowling
A Private Matter (CABLE-1992) **** out of ***** - Cast: Sissy Spacek, Aiden Quinn, William H. Macy. Written by: William Nicholson. Directed by: Joan Micklin Silver. Running Time: 89 minutes.
"A Private Matter" is based on the true story of Sherri Finkbine and the events in her life during the 1960s. After becoming pregnant (for the fifth time) she learns that some tranquilizers she had taken have seriously deformed her unborn child. She and her husband decide, with the help of her doctor, to have an abortion. But this is the 1960s, and abortion is illegal.
Her doctor has made arrangements to have the procedure performed withing the law, by claiming that the child is endangering the mother's life. Everything is about to work out just fine, until Sherri has the uncontrollable urge to talk about her situation with a local reporter.
This sets off a media frenzy and immediately Sherri is the most hated woman in the world. She and her husband are fired from their jobs, reporters are surrounding their home at all times, and most importantly, no one in the country (and eventually other countries) will perform the abortion. This causes emotion problems for all involved.
"A Private Matter" is a fascinating story and it's hard to believe that this only happened 30 years or so ago. It's only flaw is that not once is there ever a satisfactory confrontation with Sherri and any of her opponents. One woman passing her on the street telss her to burn in hell, and when Sherri appropriately yells back, "Just tell me what I'm supposed to do," the woman has no answer. No one apparently had an answer, they just wanted to control what should have been only the choice of Sherri and her husband. This is an important film, telling an important story. It's not just about not wanting another child, it's about not wanting a child who will cause severe changes in their family, none of which could be beneficial. Sydney Pollack served as executive producer for this made for HBO movie.
-- Chuck Dowling Visit Chuck's Movie Reviews at http://users.southeast.net/~chuckd21/ Over 1,600 movies rated and/or reviewed! Movie news, film related links, and reader's reviews.
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