34 year old Bridget (Kelly O'Sullivan) lives an aimless life with a meaningless waitressing job. She has a non-boyfriend. She picks up a nanny job working for a lesbian couple taking care of rambunctious girl Frances.

I have never seen abortion done in a light comedic way. Writer Kelly O'Sullivan also stars and she intends to take some social issues into unlikely comedy territories. Sometimes it actually gets funny although the abortion is a tough hill to climb. Despite the tough subject matters, its heart is the standard connection between an unlikely nanny and a bratty kid and it's fun. O'Sullivan could be an interesting performer to watch out for and as a writer, she's willing to color outside the lines.

Watching a movie like "Saint Frances" reminds a viewer how rarely we're treated to a truly female-driven movie. Oh sure, there are plenty of movies starring women, a few even (gasp!) directed by them, and lots that purport to be about women's "issues," whatever that means. But it's very rare to have a movie created by women, starring women, and about topics that mostly affect only women and in which the presence or lack thereof of male characters is largely irrelevant to the central issue.

"Saint Frances" isn't a great movie, but it's a very good one and feels in its own unambitious way like something fresh among a sea of mediocre movies. Writer and star Kelly O'Sullivan creates a character who some viewers are sure to dislike and judge, but it's also a character that feels authentic and complex and real and like, you know, the way actual real people are instead of the way they're depicted in lots of other carefully scripted films. The movie has a preoccupation with the biology of women in general and with menstrual blood in particular, and it's to the film's credit that it treats with matter-of-fact seriousness things (like periods, breast feeding, and other things that only women experience) that are used as the butts of jokes in our popular culture or otherwise inexplicably treated with outright disgust. It commits that sin common to feel-good indie movies of wanting to wrap up everything a bit too neatly with a shiny bow, but the sin isn't so egregious in this movie as to ruin the overall experience of watching it.

I also got a kick out of the fact that the movie is set in and was filmed, at least partially, in Evanston, Illinois, which is where I live. It was really fun recognizing locations and dissecting how accurately the film captured life in such a liberal progressive community.

Grade: A-

With the lazy terminology in the comments of woke, snowflake and agenda I thought I had stumbled on a trump gossip column...I found it not always easy to watch being a squeamish bloke when it comes to female sanitary situations but hey that's me and this is life and for that I like to think this film is brave and realistic .My favourite type of film is of everyday occurrence realism if you like ,the main actors are all great and convincing and also some much needed Humour pops up from time to time . I would definitely recommend this if not for the fact it addresses issues ...as a man ...I've never seen in film before .loved it and bought a tear to my eye a few times .