Call Jane Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Call Jane Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 18, 2022

Call Jane is by the admission of director Phyllis Nagy "true" and yet "fictionalized", and therein lies the rub. I've long been on record as stating that so-called "fictionalization" in movies often does more harm than good (as in the case of a film I somewhat famously deconstructed, Frances), but in the case of that purported biography of Frances Farmer, there was, at the time of the film's release anyway, no real documentary about its volatile subject. That issue was ameliorated at least somewhat a few years later when A&E's Biography did an episode about Farmer (which I was privileged to provide support for both behind the scenes and actually on camera). In the case of Call Jane, though, some may be aware that there is actually a relatively recent documentary that streamed on HBO Max called The Janes, which takes a more "the facts, and just the facts, ma'am" approach to detailing the stories of a network of women who banded together in the late sixties and early seventies in order to help provide other women with safe abortions when that procedure was still largely illegal.

In the case of Call Jane, Nagy overtly mentions how the "real" Janes were a loosely bound and frequently anonymous (even to each other) network, whereas probably for "dramatic" purposes, this film posits what might be termed a Mother Hen sort named Virginia (Sigourney Weaver), who is the driving force and mentor behind a group of women who help each other in times of absolute distress. The actual focal character here, though, is a Chicago housewife named Joy (Elizabeth Banks) who may end up dying due to a problematic pregnancy, but who finds herself between a rock and a hard place when any kind of termination of her pregnancy is outright dismissed by the powers that be. That ultimately brings her into contact with the Janes, where she is in fact helped.

Where the film may go more than a bit astray in terms of hewing to the actual record is having Joy then become something of a "trainee abortionist" herself, or at least a calming influence for a young doctor who frankly could use some improvement in his bedside manner. Still, even with this arguably somewhat questionable plot proceeding, Call Jane is often a very moving and involving depiction of the harrowing straits women found themselves in during this era. The film's apparently "happy ending" with the Roe Decision of course will now attain a somewhat bittersweet feeling for some in the wake of the Dobbs Decision.

Call Jane Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Call Jane is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. It's maybe just a little deceiving in terms of this film's self admitted "fictionalization" that it was shot on 16mm, which gives it perhaps the perceived imprimatur of being a more vérité type of production. The choice for a smaller format film stock actually does give the presentation a somewhat gritty, realistic appearance, though it may also have some built in limitations when it comes to delivering fine detail in low light situations in particular, despite evidently having been granted a 4K DI (according to the IMDb). It's actually kind of interesting to note the substantial improvement in general and fine detail levels in more brightly lit sequences that feature close ups. The palette is subtly tweaked toward beiges, peaches and yellows a lot of the time. This is nonetheless an appealingly organic looking transfer that offers no compression issues that I noticed.

Call Jane Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Call Jane features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that frankly doesn't have huge sonic ambitions, and which tends to strut its surround stuff rather subtly most of the time, often in terms of source cues, or some decent if never overwhelming ambient environmental sounds. By far the majority of this film tends to play out in interior spaces featuring lots of dialogue, and the track certainly provides more than capable support for that, even if it isn't constantly delivering engagement of the side and rear channels. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

Call Jane Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Director Phyllis Nagy and Producer Robbie Brenner


• You Are Not Alone: The Making of Call Jane (HD; 24:01) offers some good interviews with the principal cast and crew.


• Selected Deleted Scenes (HD; 3:26)

Additionally, a digital copy is included and packaging features a slipcover.

Call Jane Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Some of the sidebar material here is maybe a bit on the questionable side, but this is a film with obviously noble intentions that seeks to elucidate a now probably largely forgotten (but maybe about to be re-remembered) part of American history. Technical merits are solid, and the supplements very enjoyable. Recommended.