I do like a true story told well, with a few homely cinematic embellishments.
England, 1968. Jean Purdy (Thomasin McKenzie) meets Bob Edwards (James Norton) in a world of quintessentially British scientific research, wool overcoats, jukeboxes and bicycles. She’s to help him make babies. Joy, is the origin story of IVF. Test tube babies. Bob is one piece of the puzzle, Patrick Steptoe (Bill Nighy) is another. He’s perfecting key-hole surgery. “You’re aware they’ll throw the book at us? The church, the state, the world”…. “But we’ll have the mothers. The mothers will back us”. This back and forth as the trio meet, sums up the story wonderfully. It’s going to be hard, but they’re up for a fight. It jumps from hope and sentimental whimsy to systematic frustration, heartbreaking and it can be maddening, especially when reproductive health is still such an issue in so called civilised countries. It’s a cast of heroes though. Not just the top line, but with the support too. Tanya Moodie is particularly good as the hospitals matron, “We are here to give women choice. Every choice”. She doesn’t get many lines, but the ones she has are powerful stuff. It all is, it’s brilliantly written. It might be called Joy, but there’s a lot of sorrow here. Brought on largely but not exclusively by men. It’s Edwards and Steptoe at the core of the science, but in many ways it’s Jean who’s the focus. She’s who we relate to, who we spend more time with, she’s the glue and ultimately the drive. McKenzie is outstanding. Norton is brilliant. Nighy, well he’s Nighy! Thank god for people like this. THEY create miracles. I cried like a baby.
8/10
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