A One Mann’s Movies review of “Joy” (2024) (From the 2024 London Film Festival).
I’m republishing this post since “Joy” is available on limited release in UK cinemas from today. It will also be available to stream on Netflix from November 22nd.
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This movie is NOT to be confused with the 2015 Jennifer Lawrence film “Joy“. There are no mops in sight here! We are instead in the UK of the late 1960’s here and the development of the now-familiar and common-place IVF treatment. This led to the birth of the world’s first ‘test-tube baby’, Louise Brown.
I was unsure on going in as to whether this would make an interesting enough story. But, I was wrong. Because I had forgotten all about the ethical and religious furore that surrounded the development of the process.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
“Joy” Plot Summary:
Jean Purdy (Thomasin McKenzie) arrives in Cambridge in 1968 to work as a lab assistant for Dr Robert Edwards (James Norton) who is working on a technique to fertilise ova of mice and rabbits outside of the body. He believes this could work for humans but can see no way of easily extracting a human egg from the body without major surgery. Then he hears of an innovative keyhole surgery technique being promoted by Dr Patrick Steptoe (Bill Nighy).
Certification:
UK: 12A; US: PG-13. (From the BBFC web site: “Infrequent strong language, moderate sex references, medical detail”)
Talent:
Starring: Bill Nighy, Thomasin McKenzie, James Norton, Joanna Scanlan, Rish Shah, Tanya Moodie, Ella Bruccoleri.
Directed by: Ben Taylor.
Written by: Rachel Mason & Jack Thorne. (Based on a story by Emma Gordon & Shaun Topp).
Running Time: 1h 55m.
“Joy” Summary:
Positives:
- A warm and uplifting tale of science making life better for millions of women.
- Great performances from Thomasin McKenzie and Bill Nighy.
- Nicely positions the process against the ethical and medical concerns of the time.
Negatives:
- Some of the dialogue is extremely ropy in places.
- Love Norton in a lot of his films… but here, I didn’t think he was right.
Review of “Joy”:
The beginning.
What a great way to start a film: Nina Simone singing “Here Comes the Sun” over the opening titles… and how appropriate in many ways. We start the film seeing a young Jean Purdy (Thomasin McKenzie) interviewing for a job with Dr Bob Edwards (James Norton) in his lab at Cambridge. They are having a mouse crisis and Jean’s calm head and good mouse-catching abilities get her the job.
We then see the pair trying to persuade the crusty old obstetrician Patrick Steptoe (Bill Nighy) that they should be working together to solve the problem of childlessness in couples.
A turbulent set of issues.
Where the film brilliantly plays its hand is in tackling the overwhelming antagonism of the country against the idea of ‘playing God’ in the lab. Edwards appears naive in his assumption that everything will be fine and ploughs into terrible interview after terrible interview without any media training. He seems genuinely shocked when the Daily Mirror calls him “Dr Frankenstein” and when a studio TV audience start booing and heckling him. There’s a nice linkage made to Watson and Crick’s work on decoding the DNA chain: if we didn’t know where that would lead us, should we have done that science at all?
Some of the naysayers in the medical community have a point. What WOULD they do if the process resulted in a child with terrible deformities? There science suggested that shouldn’t be the case… but they didn’t know for sure.
The other interesting aspect of the story was that Patrick Steptoe was an abortionist and the only doctor in the Rochdale hospital (where much of the film is set) that would carry out the procedure. He sees it, in line with the IVF treatment they are working on, as “giving women a choice”. But it is against Jean’s religious beliefs and makes her doubt her work.
A wedge between mother and daughter.
An emotional element to the film is the wedge that Jean’s work drives between herself and her mum (Joanne Scanlan) and between herself and the church. “All of your qualifications” moans her Mum “and THIS is what you do with it”. She basically has to choose between carrying on her work and seeing her mum again. And the church effectively excommunicates her.
The Acting
Thomasin McKenzie again proves what a terrific young acting talent she is in playing Jean. I’ve not seen her deliver a bad performance (she was even good in “Old” even if the film was terrible). Bill Nighy is also great as always in the film. In fact, better than great as here he seems to be trying to control some of his more affected twitches and grins that he often deploys. There’s a delightful quietness and calm to Steptoe. A lovely touching scene late in the film between himself and McKenzie, where some bad news is imparted, is quiet, respectful and very moving.
There’s also a nice turn by Rish Shah playing Arun, Jean’s colleague and wannabe partner. But Jean isn’t interested in a long-term relationship: “If you promise not to become attached”, dictates Jean, “we can have sex”. “Er, OK!” replies Arun!
Sadly, I was less impressed with James Norton in this. I love him normally in stuff (“Happy Valley” was a tour de force), but I was cringing at times with some of the dialogue that he, and the rest of the cast, had to spout which often felt forced and unnatural. These things came together right at the start of the film, with Norton spouting a lot of bad lines in a not terribly convincing way as he chases a mouse around under the tables. (I thought “oh no, this is going to be terrible”… but it did pick up.) I’m afraid Norton kept disappointing me with his lines to the end: even the speech where we get the title of the film from is muttered out in a hurried and non-dramatic way when it should have been a ‘moment’.
Feelgood with a twist in the tail.
You all know, despite its twists and turns, where the story is going to go. Louise Brown is now 46, working for a frieght company in Bristol with a husband and two children. So, as a story, it builds to a birth and a big celebration, ramping up the feelgood vibes and your emotions as any new-life will do. But the story has a twist in the tail I was not aware of that lands like a gut-punch. It honestly left me feeling quite teary and emotional for a good half hour after the film. The message is, take tissues!
Summary Thoughts on “Joy”
This is a solidly made British film documenting a very significant moment in medical and social history. It’s very good and I was at 4*s for this one until I reflected on some of the films less positive points. It’s well worth seeing though and particularly so for older viewers who will remember this period and (as the illustrious Mrs Movie Man does) the negative reactions of their parents to this god-like meddling.
Where to Watch it (Powered by Justwatch)
Trailer for “Joy”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qoyn5BCm37o .
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