The story takes place in the 1950s, Britain is recovering from the trauma of World War II. The camera always focuses on the Vera Drake family and the people around them, watching them work, drink tea, remember the war, hard and happy lives.
Mike Leigh, the director of "Vera Drake", is a master. His stories are talkative, and the shots are used to narrate as in mainstream movies 20 years ago. The narrative is always a small piece of memory like a flash of thought, and there is not much connection between them. But this is slowly said, but it brings out the various characters and the style of the times vividly. Lifting weights lightly and cleverly clumsy, this is the master of storytelling.
The life of Drake's family is far from rich. They are engaged in repairs, helpers, tailors, and workers, and they are clearly located in the lower classes of society. But this is the happiest family, they are very happy for the afternoon tea or their daughter's engagement.
Drake always had a happy smile on his face and was very enthusiastic about helping others. She smiled humbly, making way for the mistress, making tea for the neighbors, and introducing her to her daughter. She is like an old angel who loves beauty.
So when she used her own native method to perform abortions for poor and fearful girls, all of this was so natural. As Drake herself said, she had to do it. She still looks like an angel, although in the eyes of the believers, it is a sin similar to a demon.
Drake was eventually arrested and imprisoned because the girl she helped almost died of an infection from an operation. The smile on this angel's face was completely erased, turning into a look of fear and sorrow.
The film ended in the drudgery of the Drake family, the film did not give its own answer. She just asked a little question. There must be something wrong here. What's wrong?
Drake was not wrong, she was just trying to help others.
There is nothing wrong with abortion. Without abortion, the lives of those girls will be more difficult, and perhaps they must end in suicide.
The police were not wrong. They sympathized with Drake and tried their best to help her. They are just doing their official duties in accordance with the law.
There is nothing wrong with the law. Drake's methods are too dangerous and might indeed kill those girls.
How about looking for a regular doctor? A rich girl in the movie paid 100 pounds for an abortion. Drake's operation is free, and her middleman will charge £2 privately. A large number of girls in need of abortion cannot pay the expensive fees of regular doctors and can only rely on Drake's help.
So why is abortion performed by regular doctors so expensive? Because abortion was illegal in the UK at the time. In fact, even now, it is very controversial in the West.
A common objection is that abortion is murdering a baby.
But the absurdity here is so obvious. At 6 or 7 weeks of pregnancy, what is in the womb can only be called a fertilized egg. In any case, it is hard to be called a person, let alone high-level biological characteristics such as consciousness. How much is the difference between ending a fertilized egg and daily cell decay and skin aging, how can it be compared with the future of a poor woman?
The deeper reason is the opposition of traditional culture to abortion, but what is even more absurd is that this cultural tradition comes from a book that claims to record the language of the gods.
Drake has not received much education, but her understanding of the pain of life and the help of others, her heart and kindness far exceed many so-called believers.
This is my answer. Human rights are far better than theocracies.
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