Call Jane

Call Jane (2022) is a fact-rooted historical drama you can watch online on iFILM. Director Phyllis Nagy draws on the true story of the Jane Collective — a Chicago network of ordinary women who quietly arranged illegal abortions in the late 1960s, years before Roe v. Wade. Elizabeth Banks plays Joy, a suburban housewife whose unexpected pregnancy becomes life-threatening when a hospital board votes to deny her care.

Out of options and out of channels, Joy tracks down a phone number taped to a pole — and finds Virginia, a sharp-tongued organizer played by Sigourney Weaver. Kate Mara plays a younger, more radical member of the group, and the friction between her approach and Virginia's pragmatism gives the film its real tension. Chris Messina is Joy's husband, well-meaning and oblivious in equal measure.

What sets the film apart is that it does not turn its characters into symbols. These are women figuring things out by trial and error, arguing about tactics, sometimes getting it wrong. The film lands as a reminder that access to healthcare has always been easier with money than without it. Stream Call Jane (2022) in full online on iFILM.