It would be hard to overstate the timeliness of the new abortion-themed drama Happening. Then again, this harrowing movie, directed with great tension and intimacy by the French filmmaker Audrey Diwan, would feel timely and urgent under any circumstances. Based on an autobiographical novel by Annie Ernaux, it unfolds over several weeks in the life of Anne, a 23-year-old literature student in the French town of Angoulême, who discovers she's pregnant after a brief fling.
It's 1963, and most working-class women in Anne's position would be forced to drop out of school, give up their careers and/or get married. But Anne doesn't want to do any of those things. She wants to continue her studies, and so she decides to seek out an abortion, even though the procedure is illegal.
