2022 Sleepers

                                                                        Part 2

        Here’s another batch of good movies from last year that didn’t get much notice. Maybe you’ll find one or two to try.

Call Jane turns out to be code words for women to use who need an abortion. The women at the other end of the phone number indeed assist callers to end their unwanted pregnancy, if it’s early enough. Elizabeth Banks plays Joy, a suburban mother is life is threatened by an unexpected pregnancy. This is not legally available where she lives. Sigourney Weaver plays the leader of the underground group of women who strive to help their sisters. The film takes place in the 60's but is as up to date as today’s headlines. 

Ali and Ava features unknowns Adeel Akthar and Claire Rushbrook in a tender film about interracial love. He is a immigrant Pakistani taxi driver and she is a suburban British woman. Their mutual love of music is the catalyst for a relationship that gradually deepens. The problems they encounter are not new but are treated with respect in this lovely movie. 

For weird titles, it would be hard to top My Donkey, My Lover And I. A naive French schoolteacher, besotted with a married colleague, decides to follow his family on a wilderness trek in the hope she will “stumble onto him”. Like those she is following, she rents a donkey. Hers is named Patrick. He is the real star of this film, and he turns out to be an excellent warning device and a faithful companion. 

Catherine Called Birdy is a charming Medieval comedy-drama about the only daughter of an impoverished nobleman. He needs to marry her off to someone with money. She doesn’t want to marry anyone and her ploys to prevent a wedding are effective and funny. Bella Ramsey plays the resourceful and extremely reluctant Birdy. The 14-year-old heroine holds her own against her parents and a plethora of suitors. 

Jennifer Lawrence appears as Lynsey, an American soldier seriously injured in an IED in Iraq. She is sent home to rehab and recover and has a very hard time adjusting to normal life. Her sole ambition is to get well enough to return to active duty. Her doctor doesn’t think she’s ready. Lynsey falls in with auto mechanic James (Brian Henry), who is also partially disabled from a car wreck. For a while they seem to bond. Causeway is an excellent title for this film because “it’s terrifying to drive across it because when you’re on it you can’t see”. Henry was nominated for Best Supporting but lost to Key Quan. Lawrence already won gold for Silver Linings Playbook in 2012.

All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. All are for adults.