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Here's what's really Happening in this brave film by Audrey Diwan
Saturday, February 22, 2025
To listen to a recording of our CineVerse group discussion of Happening, conducted last week, click here.
Be forewarned: This a visceral cinematic experience that can affect you intellectually, emotionally, and even physically. Watching Anne attempt a self-induced abortion and, later, two attempts at pregnancy termination with the aid of a clandestine abortionist, is, to say the least, cringe-worthy and stomach-turning – all too palpably real in their subjectively detailed depictions and made all the more nightmarishly realistic thanks to a stunning performance by Vartolomei – who is asked to do so much in this role, including frequently act in various stages of undress. The director astutely uses long takes, handheld cameras, and subjective POV shots to put the viewer in the shoes of this character, forcing us to identify with her corporeal and existential dilemma.
Interestingly, while this film is subtextually critical of patriarchal society and its rules and conventions, and most of the male characters are not sympathetic, Diwan doesn’t throw the entire gender under the bus. We see how Jean, who earlier persuades Anne to have sex with him with no consequences, later proves his merit as a friend by referring her to resources that can help; professor Bornec, who comes across as cold and harsh throughout most of the story, demonstrates empathy for his student later when she hints at being formerly pregnant; and her main doctor appears slightly compassionate, even though he doesn’t go out of his way to assist her; we also observe how Anne watches her parents laughing together during a dinnertime scene, suggesting that she recognizes the value of a loving relationship between a man and a woman.
The filmmakers also refreshingly present female characters who aren’t afraid to pursue or exhibit sexual gratification, helping to skewer the old double standard that only males in serious dramas are allowed to act horny while women remain pure and demure. Per Roger Ebert.com critic Tomris Laffly: “Among Diwan’s greatest feats with “Happening” is making a case not only for safe access to legal abortions, but also for true sexual freedom that dares to yearn for a world where slut-shaming is a thing of the past. With scenes both unassuming and rapturous—especially a radical one where a female friend demonstrates her masturbation technique in front of a shocked Anne—Diwan almost stubbornly validates and celebrates the equality of a woman’s desire. What a rare treat in a punishing world that denies women that parity.”
This is a period piece set in 1963 France, yet it avoids the antiquity trappings that often come with time capsule movies of a specific era and place. The film intentionally feels modern, insinuating that these characters and situations could exist in today’s world. Consequently, Happening feels more topical and relevant today and certainly in 2021 when it was released (especially in America at that time, just before the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe versus Wade).
The main message here is clear: Lack of agency begets extreme consequences. Anne, like all women at this time in France (and most nations around the world), was forbidden from terminating her pregnancy and threatened with prison time if she even attempted an abortion. Yet keeping her child would likely mean living a life of public shame and being prevented from pursuing higher education or a preferred vocation. This character’s existential plight resonates with any viewer who tries to understand the extreme challenges many women have faced in the past and confront in the present when they try to exercise their reproductive rights and evade patriarchal rules that commonly eliminate a woman’s right to choose what she wants to do with her body.
Happening also explores the pursuit of freedom and choice at all costs. Martin Tsai, a critic with the AV Club, wrote: “For Anne, her choices are liberty or death. Hélène says early on about herself that she’ll be operating a tractor the following year if she flunks the exam. Anne is resolved to continue her studies. She plainly explains to one of her doctors that if she were to give up her promising future for a child, she’d end up resenting the child for the rest of her life. So she risks her life, even if she could still end up spending it in a literal prison if she survives.”
Alienation and social rejection are under the director’s microscope, too. Anne endures slut shaming from many of her fellow classmates, scorn and ridicule from male doctors, and lack of support from her friends. Fortunately, her male friend Jean connects her to a female who refers Anne to a back-alley abortionist. And one of her cronies who previously refused to help, Helene, offers emotional support and confides that she, too, dabbled in sex but didn’t get pregnant.
On a positive note, Happening espouses the value of pivoting in the face of change. Anne’s harrowing experiences cause her to shift from her initial goal of being a teacher to now being a writer; considering that this story is adapted from the 2000 memoir Happening by Ernaux, based on her real-life experiences, the protagonist decided to tell the world about her ordeal in book form.
Similar works
- One Sings, the Other Doesn’t (1977)
- Story of Women (1988)
- A Simple Story (1991)
- Dekalog: Chapter 2 (1990)
- L’Enfant (2005)
- 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (2007)
- Vera Drake (2004)
- The Kid with a Bike (2011)
- Invisible Life (2019)
- Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
- Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020)
- Tori and Lokita (2022)
