Content warning: This article includes discussions of abortion and sexual assault. It also contains spoilers of the short film.
On Feb. 16, 2024, the Regal Cinema in my hometown hosted a viewing of the live-action short films nominated for Oscars that year. I decided to go at the last minute, not knowing what emotions I would be dealing with afterward. Among the five short films, two were American, including Red, White, and Blue. I went in not knowing anything about the films because I wanted to be surprised.
Red, White, and Blue was the second film shown that night. For the entire 24 minutes, my emotions were running high. After feeling incredibly moved, I immediately opened my Letterboxd to write my review. Looking at the other reviews made me realize I was not the only one who cried afterward. Although it didn’t win the Oscar, this short film is so important to me and should be to all women around the world. So, let’s dive into what makes this film a must-watch for women right now.
Red, White, and Blue stars Brittany Snow as Rachel, a mom, and Juliet Donenfeld as Maddy, her daughter. Set in the months following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, Rachel and her two kids live in Arkansas, one of the states with the strictest abortion laws. Arkansas’s strict abortion laws prohibit most abortions with no exceptions for rape or incest, according to Abortion Defense Network. As a single mother of two, Rachel works at a diner and lives paycheck to paycheck.
The film opens with Rachel in the diner’s bathroom hallway, looking at a positive pregnancy test. She is caught by a customer, immediately embarrassed, but returns to work. Maddy and her brother are sitting at one of the tables while Rachel works. She goes to give a customer more coffee, and as she walks away, he nonconsensually grabs her butt. She looks to her boss, who just shrugs it off, then she turns around to see that Maddy saw the whole thing.
The next scene takes place in their one-bedroom apartment. The kids are watching TV on the couch while Rachel is searching for the nearest state to get an abortion. This state turns out to be Illinois, which, for them, is a nearly eight-hour drive. After calculating the cost of both the drive and the actual procedure, she ends up having to sell the locket around her neck that holds a picture of the kids and even secretly takes $12 in coins out of Maddy’s piggy bank.
The next morning, Rachel is back at the diner. The customer who saw her in the hallway with the pregnancy test is also there. Rachel goes to bring her the check, and the woman asks, “How much do you need?” Even with Rachel politely refusing, she leaves her with $220. Now that she has the money, she and Maddy embark on a road trip to Illinois, leaving her son with Rachel’s friend.
They arrive at the abortion clinic, where the receptionist says they are too busy. Rachel begs and pleads, but the receptionist can only put her on a waiting list. The receptionist then asked for her name, “Rachel Madeline Johnson,” she responded.
“Date of birth?” the receptionist asked.
“The 29th of May,” Rachel said. “2013.”
There’s a long pause after she reveals the birth year. Except it’s not Rachel’s — it’s Maddy’s. The receptionist slowly looks up to stare Rachel directly in the eyes. She then pans her head to look at Maddy sleeping in the waiting room and tells Rachel that she’ll talk to the doctor. My jaw was on the floor from then to the end of the movie. When she said 2013, my heart dropped. It was definitely not at all what I expected.
Rachel and her daughter hug as the camera zooms into Rachel’s face. This is followed by a flashback of the incident in silence.
One night, when Rachel comes home from work, she is greeted by police and detectives in her home. She begins to freak out and tries to run toward Maddy’s bedroom. The police and detectives try to hold her back, but fail. When she makes it to the room, the camera pans to show a police officer holding up Maddy’s bloody underwear. Maddy is seen on her bed talking to a paramedic when she spots her mom and has the most distraught and disturbed look on her face.
Back in real time, the scene cuts to Maddy in a clinic bed before the procedure, with Rachel by her side. They both return home to Arkansas. Jake, Rachel’s younger son, also returns home with a cupcake for Maddy’s birthday. Rachel lights a candle and says, “Make a wish.” Maddy blows out the candle, and the film ends.
Everyone in the theater either had their jaw wide open or tears streaming down their face. This short film had a massive impact on me, and I truly believe everyone, even men, should watch it.
Red, White, and Blue is available to rent on rwbscreenings.com. To rent, you must make a donation of $5 or more. The proceeds go to the Purple Parlor Fund. The Purple Parlor Fund’s goal is to “spark personal and private conversations about reproductive rights and justice — beyond the in-theater or talkback experience — which can subsequently take place within families or subsets of communities, that nurture civil discourse and a meaningful narrative shift on the issues.”
The donation page also lists its partners, which are great resources if you are experiencing anything depicted in the film.