Voiceless (2016)

Dismiss the trolls, at least they were "kind" enough to contribute '1' point out of 10. Though,.. tread carefully. An overheated tone and characters' questionable tactics in the struggle against abortion undercut the obviously good intentions behind the pro-life drama.While it's clearly meant to serve as a cinematic rallying cry for the protection of the innocent, the film instead runs the risk of reinforcing the stereotype of irate, crusading picketers collaring women in vulnerable situations.Writer-director Pat Necerato's protagonist is Jesse Dean (Rusty Joiner), a former Special Forces soldier, "self-taught in theology," who runs an inner-city Philadelphia church's outreach center where he teaches boxing. A new arrival in what the movie portrays as a dysfunctional City of Brotherly Love, Jesse is understandably dismayed to find an abortion mill operating across the street.Previously uninvolved in the political controversy, but with a personal stake in the issue shared by his wife, Julia, Jesse works to get his fellow parishioners mobilized to shutter the place.The pastor, Gil. is opposed to this type of activism. But Jesse is spurred on by his Scottish-born neighbour, Elsie. Elsie's husband helped found the church but she has ceased to worship there because of the proximity of evil across the way.Angry exchanges ensue. After he learns that a woman who had an abortion at the facility has committed suicide, for instance, Jesse rushes into the building, which has unrealistically ineffective security, heatedly confronting the receptionist at the front desk.Matters escalate with an incident in which an abortion advocate turns up with a pistol, threatens everyone. Despite the heightened stakes, Jesse perseveres in his efforts, assuring Julia, "This is what God would want."Viewers committed to the sanctity of human life will sympathize with Jesse's frustration and outrage. Yet, just as the movie centering on him seems unlikely to change the minds of the misguided about this sorrowful topic, so too his approach to the moral horror of legal killing, while admirable for its fervor and persistence, lacks reflection and prayerfulness.

Whether you are Christian or not, I don't care. What matters is what this film tries to teach the audience and where it falls flat.Just off the top of my head:1) The clinic that our main character glares daggers at all the time is a clinic that offers abortions as a service. It is *not* a clinic that *only* offers abortions. The women there get contraceptives, pap smears, exams, and other checkups to guarantee their health. 2) The main character acts like something is up when he is not allowed to know personal CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION about the people who visit there. Sorry, but you're not a doctor, you're some random guy on the street. You do not have the privilege to know anything that's not your business, least of all because you are not a friend or family member.3) The medical professional will not, can not, and would not perform abortions on unwilling women because it would mean they would be sued to kingdom come, not to mention that there are laws against performing surgery on people who have not given the OK. That abusive husband would have had the cops called on him immediately. If anything, the staff working there would have tried to stall him as long as possible while keeping the pregnant woman safe, perhaps into protective custody or a women's shelter while they dealt with the one-dimensional villain.4) If abortions are not available to women, they will find more dangerous, back alley ways to do it. Women have been having abortions since forever and if it wasn't through a doctor it was drinking herbs or throwing themselves downstairs. Barring access to something as clean and safe as an abortion clinic for someone who is committed to aborting the fetus will only drive them to find other dangerous means to do it. As for people who claim it's "killing children", millions of children die all around the world from hunger and disease that are aggravated by severe poverty, famine, war, terrible orphanage systems, or abusive/neglectful parents. Lives that were statistically inevitable because of the people who birthed them, their country of origin, and the state of affairs in the region they were born. I say that it is only humane to prevent such suffering by stopping it before it could ever occur. To allow people to suffer through life knowing nothing but empty stomachs and battered bones and a numb tongue is a fate worse than death.

Voiceless is a powerfully performed and well crafted story. The cinematography is moody, although occasionally fluctuations in the tint made it hard to look at the screen, the acting is decent, the characters are developed (human and not saints), and the screenplay is soul searching and thought provoking rather than preachy and feel-good. There were some problems with the sound at time that was distracting, but this is a low- budget film. One of the most powerfully characters, both in symbol and acting, was the Irish neighbor, although her background story was a little puzzling. Where was her father's church located when he fought for civil rights? Why is her accent so strong after living in Philadelphia for 50 years? However, these problems do not distract from a story that keeps moving, characters that grow, and a plot that thickens. I highly recommend you checkout Voiceless at your local theater.

If you wanna go see a movie that tells you it's completely OK to treat others like dirt, destroy peoples lively hoods, and enforce your own beliefs onto others; then this is the movie for you.The summary of the movie pretty much says it all, it's complete extremist fundamental right wing Christian dogmatic propaganda that spreads the holy message that nobody should have the ability to make a choice that the church and god don't approve of. And that that's how things should be.don't waste your time, your money, or your brain cells by viewing this movie. How anyone could give it above two stars is unthinkable, the only good thing about it is the acting is alright. not great, not even good; just passable. this movie should have been a straight to DVD without a blue-ray or theatrical release.Just simply awful...