“Not A Pretty Picture” by Martha Coolidge is film that was shoot in the 1970s. The screening of the film took place in the Anthology Film Archive located in down town Manhattan. The story was about a rape that happened to Coolidge back when she was residing at her school. She filmed it in away that had the actors speaking about their point of view or at least the things that they must think about just to get into character. It was a good inside look as to how actors prepare themselves and it also shows that the director can rely on some form of improvisation if it fits their vision.

Martha Coolidge can captivate the pressures that a teenage girl had to face in the 70s if she was the victim of rape. Unfortunately, the 70s still had a lot of conservative influences to the extent that a woman’s right was still very limited. Subjects such as abortions were very taboo, and girl was viewed as easy or dirty if she would have more than one partner. The film also managed to show what the mentality of some men at the time had when it came to consent. One of the actors, who was playing as the rapist, stated that sometimes a guy can misinterpret a “no” as a form of playing hard to get. However, a no regardless of how it sounds should still be taken as a no. The actress playing as a young Martha also had a rape experience of her own. She stated that she didn’t want it, but it seemed as if the man who raped her didn’t fully understand what he was doing or even understood that Martha was not consenting.

Artistically the film was shot years ago so I wasn’t expecting HD quality, but it was still shot well. Since the film was dialog heavy most of the shots were profiles or up-close shots. Coolidge also used a lot of single shots since the actors would improvise from time to time. She truly relied on them to interpret the emotions and mentality of both the rapist and the victim. The supporting actors were also important for the film since they are the ones who set-up the scene and the personality of the main cast. We notice that through the banter of the supporting cast that rapist is already a douche. He treats others like lower class citizens and even makes fun of one of his friends because he got into college. During the scene in which they are in school he ignores Martha after she tells him that she is possibly pregnant.

Through Martha Coolidge’s film the harsh reality of a young teenage girl’s life during the 70s was very difficult since society was more conservative than today, so the idea of a young girl aborting was almost blasphemy.