92
Metascore
38 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100The PlaylistJason BaileyThe PlaylistJason BaileyWhat an extraordinary film this is.
- 100VarietyAndrew BarkerVarietyAndrew BarkerAt once dreamlike and ruthlessly naturalistic, steadily composed yet shot through with roiling currents of anxiety, Never Rarely Sometimes Always is a quietly devastating gem.
- 95TheWrapRobert AbeleTheWrapRobert AbeleHittman wades into one of the more charged subjects of our time — abortion access — with the kind of sensitivity, focus and detail that will ensure its place as a dramatic standard for how to put a human face on a controversial topic.
- 91The Film StageJordan RaupThe Film StageJordan RaupHittman has provided an essential, specific look at just one person’s struggle to have control over her own body. By doing so with such a delicate, considered perspective, she’s giving a voice to millions of women going through the same experience. And it’s time to listen.
- 91IndieWireKate ErblandIndieWireKate ErblandYes, it’s a searing examination of the current state of this country’s finicky abortion laws and the medical professionals tasked with enforcing them (from the small-minded to the big-hearted), and if art can have any impact on its consumers, the film will stick with many of its viewers, perhaps even changing long-held beliefs. But it’s also a singular look at what it means to be a teenage girl today, and with all the joy and pain that comes with it.
- 90The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyThe teen-abortion factor tags Never Rarely Sometimes Always as an issue drama, and in the most unconventional way, it is — raw, haunting and painfully real. But it's perhaps better defined as a moving snapshot of female friendship, solidarity and bravery.
- 90Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangLos Angeles TimesJustin ChangThe movie’s sympathies, much like its political convictions, couldn’t be clearer. But paradoxically, what makes “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” so forceful — and certainly the most searingly confrontational American drama about abortion rights in recent memory — is its quality of understatement, its determination to build its argument not didactically but cinematically.
- 88RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoRogerEbert.comBrian TallericoWith stunning performances from two completely genuine young leads, this is a movie people will talk about all year.
- 83The A.V. ClubA.A. DowdThe A.V. ClubA.A. DowdHittman isn’t really a polemicist. She expresses her empathy and political conscience through a refined version of what’s become her signature style, zeroing in on details of place and behavior, both magnified by the reliably involving scenario of two kids from the sticks navigating the hustle, bustle, and bright lights of the city. And moments of startling, unaffected tenderness peak through the grimness of the circumstances.
- 80Screen DailyTim GriersonScreen DailyTim GriersonWhile this simple story may not seem inherently momentous, it speaks volumes about the ways in which women are marginalised — especially when it comes to making decisions about their own bodies.