This review originally ran June 12, 2022, for the film’s Tribeca Festival premiere.
Despite its title, Cynthia Lowen’s “Battleground” takes an unexpectedly restrained approach to the eternally volatile issue of abortion.
Indeed, were it not for the occasionally ominous notes of Gil Talmi’s score and the closing plea to “get organized” by visiting the film’s website, one could easily view Lowen’s project as entirely even-handed. This is neither a criticism nor a compliment, but the fact that it could be taken as either is just one more indication of the cavernous divide she records.
Her primary intent is to show in unambiguous terms how anti-choice activists patiently seeded and then victoriously harvested what we now know to be tremendous political success.