Posted on 10/10/2018 6:03:39 AM PDT by Morgana
The excellent film Gosnell very effectively portrays the murderous Kermit Gosnell
In a sane world, the crimes of late-term abortionist/serial killer Kermit Gosnell would receive the same Hollywood treatment as other horrifying true stories like Zodiac, Monster, and In Cold Blood. It would have a large budget, a prestigious director, and A-list stars culminating in award nominations. But, of course, in a sane world the story would have received in-depth coverage from major media outlets as well.
Thus the theme of the movie is also the story of how it came to be made. As one character puts it, [Gosnells] been killing babies for 30 years because nobody wanted to say anything. Nobody wanted to know. Thankfully, after fighting an uphill battle to get funding, the filmmakers do a tremendous job with the limited resources at their disposal.
During what he thinks is going to be a routine drug bust, Detective James Woody Wood (Dean Cain) receives a tip almost too astonishing to be real about a house of horrors in a Philadelphia abortion clinic. The conditions he and his partner discover after they arrive to investigate are unspeakably unsanitary, with cats defecating in the halls and medical waste sitting alongside food in the fridge. When they come upon a room containing babies feet preserved in jars and hear the nurses describe Gosnells practice of snipping the spines of living infants, they realize their informant vastly undersold the true extent of the situation. Hat Tip Films
Dean Cain as Detective James Woods (Hat Tip Films)
The biggest danger with a story like Gosnell (rated PG-13 for realistic language and violent images) is sensationalizing the more gruesome elements, accurate as they may be. Letting the story unfold naturally as a police and courtroom procedural, actor/director Nick Searcy (best known for TV series Justified) wisely errs on the side of understatement. He trusts the facts to speak loudly enough to the audience without his needing to hammer home a message.
And the facts are thesethe law regarding late-term abortion is so morally muddled, Woody and assistant district attorney Lexi McGuire (Sarah Jane Morris) face a monumental task trying to prove that Gosnells pitiless slaughter of countless babies as well as one mother qualifies as serial killing rather than simply some form of gross medical malpractice. Just deciding to take the case to trial forces Lexi, a pro-choice mother of five, to confront the deeper implications of what she says she believes. Hat Tip Films
Sarah Jane Morris as Assistant District Attorney Lexi McGuire (Hat Tip Films)
During cross-examination, the inherent irrationality of our nations approach to abortion law stands out in stark, neon relief. Particularly effective is an ongoing discussion of how, had Gosnell first emptied the heads of the fetuses, i.e., removed the babies' brains before removing them from the womb, as is the common practice for abortionists, the murders he carried out might not have been crimes.
Thankfully, the performances, production, and pacing of the movie more than do justice to the difficult subject matter. Cain and Morris are both likable, effective leads, and the series of women playing Gosnells clinic employees are uniformly impressive. A lions share of credit must go, however, to Earl Billings as Gosnell. At one moment blandly compliant, at another arrogant in his rock-solid confidence that the third rail of so-called womens health will prove too charged to allow his conviction. His smiling self-assurance that hes a hero to the poor, minority women who visit his clinic is the stuff of nightmares.
Both as director and in his role as Gosnells attorney, Searcy is smart enough to make as strong an argument as possible on the abortionists behalf, refusing to flinch from the real-life allegations that race and religion played a role in Gosnells arrest. In fact, the most persuasive case he makes in Gosnells defense is that while his practice may have been sloppier than that of other clinics, it was no more inhumane.
Perhaps we should be glad that mainstream Hollywood, just like the mainstream media, had no interest in this story. Its almost impossible to believe they would have told it so well.
A powerful film that needs to be widely seen.
Particularly timely, given the mudslinging confirmation battle over Justice Kavanaugh, whose originalist views on the US Constitution may ultimately threaten the Roe v Wade decision — which has very little constitutional basis.
Im going to see this movie today.
I cannot believe there is minimal outcry across the nation. If these were baby seals, it would be on all the news outlets.
It is still legal to eviscerate the babys brain (suction out the brain) up to 24 weeks in my state as long as the baby is still inside the mother. After baby is born, they are not allowed to dismember the baby. Instead, if baby is born alive, they must resuscitate baby.
Most dangerous place for an infant is their mothers womb. Very sad.
Saw this movie today and Im going to take others. Excellent. Riveting.
Was over before I was ready. Well done. Acting was excellent.
No gore or hysteria. Powerful in a humble way.
God Bless You fro seeing it, and for urging others to see it.
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