“I got an abortion years ago and, sort of unconsciously, made the decision not to tell anyone for a while,” says Rachel Lee Goldenberg. “Then I had the realization a few years ago that that was its own political decision, and not the one I wanted to be making.”
It’s what drew the writer-director to “Unpregnant,” HBO Max’s feature film (now streaming) that can best be described as an abortion buddy comedy. Adapted from the young adult novel by Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan, it depicts 17-year-old Veronica (Haley Lu Richardson), a straight-A student who wishes to get an abortion without the permission of her religious parents. Because that’s illegal in Ohio, where she lives, she must travel to the closest state that allows minors to do so: New Mexico. With the assistance of her estranged friend Bailey (“Euphoria” star Barbie Ferreira), the duo sets out on a cross-country adventure.
Take It From Miranda July: There’s No Wrong Way to Make a Film The film is as raucous as any of its high school–set predecessors—“Superbad” is an obvious comparison—only instead of more traditional pursuits of sex or popularity, the end goal here is reproductive autonomy.
“To get an abortion, Veronica has to travel 1,000 miles, and that’s a fact, so the majority of the comedy comes from how hard that journey is…and it shouldn’t be.”
“To get an abortion, Veronica has to travel 1,000 miles, and that’s a fact, so the majority of the comedy comes from how hard that journey is,” Goldenberg says of the film’s unusual tone. “It’s designed really nicely, where the comedic angle is built into the political message. You’re not fighting it and there aren’t moments of inappropriate [comedy]. It is more a natural thing to show how hard this journey is—and that it shouldn’t be.”
As imperative as finding and establishing the project’s tone was casting its two leads, of course, who in the buddy comedy tradition are a mismatched pair. It’s through their relationship that “Unpregnant” is able to do so many different things at once.
“Haley starred in a movie I made years ago, and I had been waiting for the right project to be able to bring her back to me,” Goldenberg says of finding her leads. “And then Bailey was more of a search. When Barbie came in, there was just something so specific about her. She’s really funny, and she also finds unusual ways into things. We did chemistry readings with them, [and in] one of the audition scenes, Barbie and Haley were sitting in chairs in the room, reenacting a scene, and they were just screaming and laughing and having the best time together immediately, five minutes after meeting. It was just so obvious it had to be her.”
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Goldenberg also calls Ferreira the kind of actor who makes “unexpected choices,” which has immense value for her as a director. Despite the way a role is conceived in her mind or on the page, she always welcomes a performer’s input to turn it into something she alone couldn’t have imagined. That goes for the audition room and for the set itself; if she’s giving all she has, you’d better be doing the same.
“I’m bringing everything I can: all my ideas, all my perspectives, and all I want is for someone in each role to add to that, and who has a broader scope—or a deeper scope—than I do,” she says. “And I love working with people in the audition process, and adjusting and making changes, but generally, right away I can tell if someone’s going to be a contender or not, based on their just finding an interesting way into the character and pulling more from it than what was on the page.”
As far as advice for filmmakers themselves, she says the content of your project is almost besides the point. Whether you’re tackling weighty issues like abortion or aiming to check the “heartwarming comedy” box (“Unpregnant,” of course, does both), according to Goldenberg, you really only have to worry about one thing: “Make it good.”
“It’s almost annoyingly simple,” she laughs. “I really love filmmaking. I love every part of the process. I love casting, I love shooting, I love sound design. The part that is not as fun but is just essential is pushing to make sure you get things right at every stage. There’s always time constraints and there’s always money constraints. Filmmaking is sort of 500,000 tiny decisions—and you have to get each of them right.”
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