Joy, 2024.
Directed by Ben Taylor.
Starring Thomasin McKenzie, Bill Nighy, James Norton, Charlie Murphy, Rish Shah, Cecily Cleeve, Eoin Duffy, Mariam Haque, Abbiegail Mills, Olivia Sellers, Joanna Scanlan, Tanya Moodie, Ella Bruccoleri, Douggie McMeekin, Miles Jupp, Louisa Harland, and Toby Williams.
SYNOPSIS:
3 trailblazers: a young nurse, a visionary scientist, and an innovative surgeon face opposition from the church, state, media, and medical establishment in their pursuit of the world’s first ‘test tube baby,’ Louise Joy Brown.
With several competing plot threads and perspectives, Ben Taylor’s directorial debut (but not without plenty of prior experience working on television), Joy – the story of the first-ever baby birthed through IVF (in vitro fertilization) methods – overcomes such a scattershot narrative through sincerity and a pair of winning, affecting performances from a conflicted, sacrificial, and determined Thomasin McKenzie a nuanced Bill Nighy.
From a script by Jack Thorne (seemingly a screenwriting journeyman, having dabbled in television, other Netflix originals such as Enola Holmes, and other period pieces centered on life-changing accomplishments like The Aeronauts) with story contributions from Emma Gordon, Rachel Mason, and Shaun Topp, there is a case to be made that this inspirational story could have benefited from the limited series treatment given how much these filmmakers are trying to tackle.
Rather than stick to scientific research and problem-solving (while also using interactions with test subjects to break down scientific babble for the average viewer with a light and amusing touch), the film admirably cares about the life of nurse Jean Purdy (Thomasin McKenzie), her reasons for getting involved with IVF research, and how that cuts her off from a disapproving, conservative mother played by Joanna Scanlan. The film is also interested in depicting how she became close to the numerous human test subjects, bonding over their personal lives and taking the occasional field trip.
Front and center of the research is Bob Edwards (James Norton), who also becomes the public face, trying to push back against conservative media, public, and medical boards that don’t see finding a way to give infertile women a choice as important science. This typically blows up in his face, as he is unable to sway minds and earn additional funding, something that gradually begins to wear him down mentally. Meanwhile, outstanding surgeon Patrick Steptoe (Bill Nighy) is convinced to join them, also serving as a source of wisdom for Jean and Bob, each going through personal and professional strife. His incisions and various surgeries are also sensitively and educationally captured without bordering on gratuity.
There is a moment where Jean, moderately religious, also has to look inside at the other side of that choice, abortion, which her coworkers also perform and is a procedure that initially makes her uncomfortable. A large part of this is also due to her mother threatening to never talk to her again if she continues working with these “heathens,” but this mostly goes underexplored. The mother-daughter estrangement is also unconvincingly resolved, eventually playing to a sappy beat.
Similar issues persist throughout Joy, which is simply trying to broadly do too much with too many characters, meaning that plenty of it doesn’t feel as emotionally involving as it should be. There is an entire romantic subplot involving Jean and a coworker, there to convey something important about who she is, but it’s also servicing the plot without adding characterization. Some test subjects are also revealed to have some dark backstories that tie into a greater understanding of how infertility can destroy personal lives and marriages, but also frustratingly gloss over those people as characters here.
However, the decade-encompassing story (despite none of these characters actually aging) is remarkable and affecting; Joy is a slice of history one is happy to have learned more about, wrapped up in a film that might have worked better off in another format or as a documentary. Regardless, Thomasin McKenzie elevates the material, especially in some of her final scenes, as succeeding in this research is also personal to her.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
