Call Jane
Roadside Attractions | Release Date: October 28, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
17
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
TheWrapRobert AbeleJan 24, 2022
At its richest and most riveting, when it’s seizing your breath or making you laugh or opening your eyes, Call Jane is about what it takes to come to that realization about true liberation, and what it means to see it through. Read full review
83
ConsequenceAl ShipleyOct 27, 2022
Nagy puts an identifiable human face on the women who need abortions, and all the different reasons they can arrive at that decision. And Banks capably leads a stellar ensemble that elevates the sometimes clumsy screenplay. Read full review
80
The TelegraphTim RobeyJan 24, 2022
Without giving in to bromides, the cha-cha, surprisingly feel-good rhythms of Nagy’s direction make this heroine's sudden sense of purpose rather exhilarating. Read full review
79
Paste MagazineShayna Maci WarnerJan 24, 2022
Ultimately, it’s unfortunate that Call Jane can’t decide whether it’s a character study or the study of a movement, as it’s a visual pleasure that successfully tiptoes in both directions before retracting its more confrontational opinions. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Anne T. DonahueNov 2, 2022
Call Jane delivers a striking and affecting message that self-autonomy is crucial to survival, and that the fight for reproductive health is one that we can under no circumstances back down from. Read full review
75
Original-CinLiam LaceyOct 28, 2022
The film loses momentum as it settles into movie-of-the-week familiarity, detailing the activities of the Jane collective, some of which seem hardly credible, though historically accurate. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyOct 28, 2022
Call Jane is about an important subject, but it's also a character study of one woman waking up, not just to her own strength, but to the fact that she's hidden in the suburbs for too long. It's time to help others. It's a very satisfying character arc. Read full review
75
The Associated PressJake CoyleOct 27, 2022
Call Jane distinguishes itself as a stirring portrait of the birth of an unlikely abortion-rights activist. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperOct 26, 2022
We’ve known for a long time Elizabeth Banks is equally deft at handling comedy and drama, and in one of the most serious and important roles of her career, Banks comes through in powerfully effective fashion. Call Jane is a drama that carries the ring of historical truth. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubMark KeizerOct 26, 2022
Call Jane is a feminist work told with straight-arrow purpose. It assumes that the slightest melodrama would devalue the sacrifices these women made and the community they created. If that’s a miscalculation, the movie is still effective and enlightening—and a worthy companion to 2022’s The Janes, an excellent nonfiction documentary on this remarkable cooperative. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreOct 25, 2022
Call Jane is a moving and surprisingly uplifting period piece about America’s pre-sexual revolution past, a late ’60s story of women who organized to ensure that the most personal and difficult decision many women will ever face was hers to make, with their help. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleOct 24, 2022
Call Jane doesn’t depict a radical transformation, just a deepening. And Banks makes it worth watching. Read full review
70
TimeStephanie ZacharekOct 27, 2022
The picture could use a little more dramatic tension; in places it goes a bit slack, losing its way on the path to its conclusion. Even so, its refusal to push the usual buttons is one of its finest qualities. Back-alley scare stories serve their purpose, but Call Jane has something else in mind. This is a story about women getting the job done when they have no one to rely on but one another. Read full review
70
SlashfilmChris EvangelistaJan 24, 2022
The film is so laser-focused on Joy there's often no room for anything, or anyone else. But I hope "Call Jane" finds a wide audience, and if the film's somewhat sanitized portrayal of events helps change a few minds in regards to the issues at hand, that will be a net good. Read full review
70
Screen DailyTim GriersonJan 24, 2022
Director Phyllis Nagy has crafted a subdued but affecting portrait of that time, strengthened by deft performances from Elizabeth Banks as a sheltered suburban mother whose eyes are opened and Sigourney Weaver as the leader of an underground abortion-facilitation service. Read full review
67
ColliderMaggie LovittOct 28, 2022
With Phyllis Nagy at the helm, Call Jane had all the potential in the world to be something revolutionary, but it ultimately chose to take the path of least resistance. It leans into a very glossy feel-good “girl power” energy, ensuring that its audience never once feels true discomfort when discussing uncomfortable truths. Read full review
67
IndieWireKate ErblandJan 24, 2022
While Call Jane might suffer from a litany of the usual first film missteps — a tricky tone often hobbles it, as does a bent toward gliding over history in service of telling a singular story — Nagy’s affection and respect for women is a strong fit for the material. And Banks, who has stealthily proven her ability in a variety of genres, both in front of and behind the camera, turns in a career-best performance as Joy, a woman who is about to undergo a shift of her own. Read full review
67
The PlaylistGregory EllwoodJan 24, 2022
When the film works, it’s often because Banks confidently carries so much of it on her own shoulders. Read full review
60
The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeNov 8, 2022
The very watchable combination of Elizabeth Banks, as a suburban Chicago housewife turned illegal abortion technician, and Sigourney Weaver, as the founder of Call Jane, brings a force of charisma that overrides the picture’s occasional frothiness. Read full review
60
Little White LiesLeila LatifNov 5, 2022
Zippy duologues, expertly teased beehives and stunning late ‘60s costumes may make this pro-choice message more palatable to the masses but ultimately the film pulls its punches, never lingering long enough on a single scene or tragedy to let the impact of these women’s work consume the audience. Read full review
60
EmpireLaura VenningOct 31, 2022
Hardly as revolutionary as the activists it draws inspiration from, Call Jane is nonetheless a charming, big-hearted story of a fight for justice, and might just change a few minds along the way. Read full review
60
The New York TimesManohla DargisOct 27, 2022
Nagy tries to push the story beyond its cautious framing, but it’s tough going. Read full review
60
CNNBrian LowryOct 27, 2022
Call Jane is a good example of how a few questionable choices can muddle an otherwise-powerful story, with the recent HBO documentary version of these events, “The Janes,” outshining this fictionalized dramatic account. The portrait of an underground abortion network pre-Roe v. Wade is obviously timely, but its slightly askew focus blunts the overall impact. Read full review
60
Film ThreatNorman GidneyJan 26, 2022
Call Jane is dripping with amazing actors giving solid performances, but only Banks is given a chance at Oscar bait. Weaver’s Virginia is a sagacious activist with long hair, always reminding the group to keep the goal in mind, but we are cheated of heavier moments with her. What is here is wonderful, but it could have used a few moments of gravity. Read full review
60
The GuardianAdrian HortonJan 24, 2022
Call Jane never quite rises to the level of a rousing battle cry, but does offer a studious examination of a past that could, terrifyingly, become our future. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenJan 24, 2022
We know the achievements and victories of the era Nagy depicts, and yet, because she and her fine cast bring the story to such vivid, immediate life, the final moments of Call Jane are powerful with unanticipated joy. Read full review
60
VarietyPeter DebrugeJan 24, 2022
The female empowerment message comes through loud and clear in “Call Jane,” especially in Banks’ performance. What’s missing from the picture is the threat of discovery, the dangling sword of Damocles that might chasten anyone taking so much responsibility on themselves. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshOct 27, 2022
Though the film is politically and culturally urgent, it’s too much of a challenge to connect with the void of character at the core of this screenplay. We may all have the power to be Jane, but the image of Jane remains frustratingly hazy in Nagy’s depiction. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleSarah JaneOct 26, 2022
For a heavy-duty subject, Call Jane is anything but, moving along almost like a lighthearted Lifetime movie. Read full review
50
Washington PostThomas FloydOct 25, 2022
The result is a film that’s engaging enough, but choppily paced and oddly inert. Beyond an audacious opening shot and some period-appropriate needle drops — Nancy Sinatra, Malvina Reynolds and Vanity Fare among them — Call Jane is also decidedly unstylish. Read full review
50
Screen RantMae AbdulbakiJan 28, 2022
The film is ultimately underwhelming and lacking the urgency needed to drive the story and lend realistic consequences to their endeavor. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineChris BarsantiJan 25, 2022
The film consistently fails to underline the risks and pressures faced by the women in an underground abortionist network in Chicago in the late ‘60s. Read full review
50
The Film StageJake Kring-SchreifelsJan 24, 2022
Call Jane is a competently made, well-acted historical drama that doesn’t give its charged subject matter the stakes or urgency it needs. Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalKyle SmithOct 27, 2022
There is less artistry to the film than there is sloganeering. Call Jane would be more effective if it stuck to human drama rather than having its characters make sweeping assertions that sound like stump speeches given at political rallies. Read full review
40
Time OutPhil de SemlyenJan 24, 2022
While you know the stakes are high, Call Jane never seems particularly interested in proving it. Read full review
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