An important episode in the history of the American women’s movement is dramatised in this confident directorial debut from Carol screenwriter Phyllis Nagy.

It’s 1968, five years before the landmark ruling in Roe v Wade, and abortion is not yet a constitutional right in America. When suburban housewife Joy (Elizabeth Banks) is denied a termination for a pregnancy that threatens her life, she seeks the help of ‘Jane’, an underground network led by Sigourney Weaver’s no-nonsense Virginia, who provide safe abortions for women in need.

Joy’s subsequent feminist awakening forms the film’s main arc, but its real pleasures – and its power – lie in its depiction of community and resistance across social and political divides. At a time when access to abortion in America is under threat, Call Jane is an urgent reminder of the freedoms once again at stake.

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