I’m Natalie in real life: My Review of Netflix's "Look Both Ways"
According to the Guttmacher institute, nearly 5% of reproductive-age women in the United States have an unintended pregnancy each year. In 2021 I joined that statistic when I discovered I was pregnant in my first week of my senior year of college. So, when Netflix’s August 2022 release “Look Both Ways” popped up on my front page, I felt personally attacked.
“Look Both Ways” follows protagonist Natalie (Lili Reinhart), an aspiring artist, through two diverging paths of life after she takes a pregnancy test. In the first storyline the test is negative and Natalie moves to LA with her best friend to pursue a career in animation. In the second storyline, her life changes upon the appearance of two pink lines.
I remember my pink lines moment. In fact, I made a comic about it! which you can read here. I got flashbacks seeing Natalie on that toilet, and experienced the same frustration and grief having a wrench (or in this case, a baby) interrupt my plans for the future.
My similarities with Natalie do not stop there however. I was also 22 when I discovered I was pregnant, and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration and Storyboarding from the Savannah College of Art and Design four days after giving birth to my son.
As someone going through Natalie’s experience in real life here is my review of the movie.
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPHS CONTAIN SPOILERS: READ AT YOUR OWN RISK
What They Got Right
Some aspects of “Look Both Ways” had me looking over my shoulder to see if a netflix film writer was stalking me (joking) because Natalie’s experiences hit close to home.
My favorite scene in the film is when Natalie’s friend in LA asks her how she’s feeling, and she replies:
“I’m kind of terrible actually…um…Yesterday, I basically just ate crackers and took three naps, and then threw up for the rest of the day.”
That line could have been taken straight from my own lips. I experienced Severe Morning Sickness during my pregnancy, also known as Hypermesis Gravidarum. I too often spent days just eating crackers and throwing up. I wasn’t exactly a “glowing” “happy” pregnant woman in the first trimester.
Natalie’s friend goes on to ask her if she’s been drawing much, to which she sadly replies “No.”
I appreciated how the film showed this side of unexpected pregnancy. How it feels like your life has halted while everyone else’s is moving forward, and the FOMO it is to experience standing on the sidelines while your peers move forward. I also enjoyed how they tackled the subject of loss of identity to motherhood, which continues in the film after Natalie gets a haircut and is upset that it makes her “look like a mom.”
I would also like to take a second to mention the portrayal of Postpartum Depression in the film. Kudos to the writers for referencing a very real experience for many women that needs more awareness. In the film Natalie’s mother helps her through this struggle, and although the scene is brief, it is striking. I would have however, enjoyed seeing Natalie explore additional resources like therapy or a support group, but this is an 111 minute film with TWO stories so I understand the limitations.
Furthermore, I enjoyed the career struggles Natalie faces in the first storyline when she moves to LA. I currently have friends who moved to California post-graduation, so this hit home for me…although I would like to know how Natalie and her roommate afforded rent immediately after graduation.
Furthermore, I would like to note that Natalie is 1000% right about how adapting “Spirited Away” into a live-action film would be blasphemy. That is fact and definitely not my subjective opinion at all.
I also enjoyed how the first storyline treated Natalie’s career development, and that the film didn’t depict a shallow plot that “if she didn’t get pregnant her life would be super easy.” When Natalie’s boss called her portfolio “derivative”, I felt second-hand cringe…but the industry can be that cutthroat and it can take years to develop a passionate portfolio that gets you work. It was also a great reminder that I need to work on my portfolio instead of writing film reviews…
That being said, the film possessed real, relatable qualities…but there were some aspects I found lacking.
What’s Missing
Now I know “Look Both Ways” is ultimately a feel-good film, but as someone who has gone through an unexpected pregnancy at 22 years old myself, I wish the writers of the had explored some of Natalie’s struggles more in-depth; for example her decision to keep her pregnancy. For someone as ambitious as Natalie, there wasn’t much discussion into Natalie’s rationale to throw her “Five-Year Plan” out the window to raise her baby as a single mother.
Furthermore, Natalie’s parent’s reactions to her pregnancy are quite short-lived. Except for some discussion about how having a grandchild interrupts their plans to “Go to Barcelona next Year”, there isn’t much friction in the family after that. Now, I’m not saying her parents should have disowned her, but it felt unrealistic that 1 or 2 conversations suddenly made them accept their daughter’s pregnancy and everything it entailed. Although, I did like the scene where her parents were arguing outside after finding out she was pregnant. Unplanned pregnancies affect WHOLE families, so that felt realistic
In both storylines Natalie sorts out her relationships with her boyfriend, and baby-daddy while navigating her career goals and ultimately achieving success.
While I enjoyed this positive outlook of the film with Natalie achieving her dreams in both storylines, and how the filmmakers showed that an unplanned pregnancy doesn’t mean you have to give up on your dreams, this outcome is very dependent on personal circumstance. In Natalie’s case, she had the privilege of education, a degree, a good support system, an amicable relationship with a responsible babydaddy, and seemingly great childcare as we seldom see her daughter in the montage of her creating her webcomic “Night Owl.”
I also started a webcomic after giving birth to my son called “Momic”, and I often sit with my son in my lap while drawing. It would have been nice to see this intersection of ambition and responsibility through Natalie interacting with her daughter while working on her comic. That would have felt a bit more realistic to me. Also if she drank more caffeine. Natalie is an absolute beast to work all-night on her comic and be a full-time mom during the day.
That being said, ‘Look Both Ways’ is an entertaining, feel-good movie…but a fantasy more than anything. I wish we could all experience Natalie’s ending and have our Night Owl moment. Maybe Momic will be mine.
