There’s no wonder director Eliza Hittman is keeping close ties with the Sundance Film Festival. Her first two acclaimed dramas, 2013’s It Felt Like Love and 2017’s Beach Rats, were greeted with open arms, really putting the filmmaker on the map. And now her third film, Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always, will soon be seeking a similar reception in the snowy climate of Park City.
As with her previous two features, Hittman is exploring a different facet of human sexuality. The story follows two teenage girls in rural Pennsylvania, as they deal with the fallout of one’s unexpected pregnancy. As they travel across state lines to get the help so desperately needed, the film also looks at the dwindling options for women needing to exercise their reproductive rights.
Hittman has turned to little-known actresses Sidney Flanigan and Talia Ryder to lead the film, joined by Ryan Eggold, Théodore Pellerin, and Sharon Van Etten, Rather than seeking bigger names, Hittman has always looked to create fresh stars, as she did with Beach Rats’ Harris Dickinson, who has gone on to leading roles in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, The Darkest Minds, and the upcoming Kingsman spinoff, The King’s Man.
Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always will have its world premiere at Sundance next month, then open in theaters on March 13th 2020.
