By Dave Andrusko
Today is the premier of “October Baby,” a terrific pro-life movie we were privileged to see back in January. It’s a small budget film, counting on word of mouth to draw in audiences. “October Baby” opens Friday at around 400 theatres. For information about locations, go to www.octoberbabymovie.net.
The narrative of “October Baby” begins when Hanna, a college freshman and aspiring actress, falls ill on stage. During a follow up medical exam two soul-searing truths emerge. After an awkward, eyes-averting pause, in one fell swoop Hannah first learns her parents are not her biological parents. She is angry she was never told. Then, worse yet for the emotionally fragile Hannah, she learns she was adopted … after a failed abortion attempt!
She is shocked to the core of her being. Hannah has long felt disconnected, and has written in her journal that “I am drowning.” At some place tucked away deep in her soul, Hannah knows “something is missing,” and asks, “Why, God, do I feel unwanted?”
Then she learns the truth which triggers even deeper anxiety and self-doubt.
Hannah decides she must go back to Mobile, Alabama, to the hospital she was delivered at as a starting point to finding the woman “who didn’t want me.” What she will do if she finds her birth mother? She doesn’t know. Hannah just knows she is angry, made worse because she knows there are some who dismiss her as some kind of “Christian homeschooling freak”—whose “perfection” annoys them to no end.
Hannah confesses to her best friend forever, Jason, that she feels “stuck,” and that without at least attempting to find her birth mother, she will never be able to get on with her life. Why? Because she needs to know why she was unwanted—and no doubt a lot more.
The story’s message transcends the particulars of a “failed” abortion. It is a coming-of-age story for Hanna. It is a story of redemption, for many people, including Hanna’s birth mother and the nurse who delivered Hanna. It is a story of how working in an abortion clinic can shred the moral armor of perfectly decent people. It is a story of forgiveness. It is a love story. It is a story of family reconciliation. It is a story of a dad “letting go.”
“October Baby” blends veteran actors with a number of newcomers. The film stars Rachel Hendrix as Hannah with John Schneider (“Smallville”) as the dad, Jasmine Guy (“A Different World”) fabulous as the abortion clinic nurse, Jason Burkey as the boyfriend, and “American Idol” finalist Chris Sligh as the goofy friend.
I have watched the film twice. I have read a few critics whose antipathy was based not on the relative merits of the film but on its content and—dare I say it?—its message.
What does “October Baby” tell us? It sings out that every life is precious; that each one of us is flawed and in need of redemption; that parents need not be perfect to be just what a child needs; and that the harder it is to forgive, the more important it is to let go of anger and resentment and despair.
“October Baby” is a terrific film that I intend to bring my entire family to. Please do the same…and bring a box of Kleenex.
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