Noemi Gold Review: An Understated, Relatable Story With Quirky Characters

Release date: November 19, 2020
Running time: 80 minutes
Starring: Catalina Beraducci, Paula Astorga, Daniel Powell, Dan Rubenstein and Alex Bach
Written and Directed By: Dan Rubenstein

Noemí Gold follows Noemí Goldberg who, after experiencing what she believes to be an allergic reaction to Misoprostol (commonly known as the abortion pill), Noemí seeks out the help of a gynecologist, who promptly reports her to the police. To Noemí’s relief, she is not charged with any crime—attempted abortion is not a prosecutable offense in Argentina—and to her dismay, she’s still pregnant. This news coincides with the arrival of Noemí’s estranged cousin from Los Angeles, a social media influencer with millions of followers and dubious talent. With little support from her scatter-brained roommate and self-involved circle of friends, Noemí has only herself to rely on while navigating her present straits.

Noemi Gold feels like a slice of life, understated film.  Noemí's situation is relatable to a lot of people and the whole encounter feels very real (aside from some of the interesting characters that participate in her story).  Noemí herself is reserved despite everything that is going on in her life, and seems to roll with the punches as they come.  As mentioned in the synopsis, Noemí is seeking an abortion, an incredibly personal and difficult decision.  And this film was an interesting window to see abortion rights are like in other countries.  The idea that an abortion could be a prosecuted offense was discomforting to see, and these types of movies are great for giving that insight into other countries and cultures, especially when many of us are not able to travel.  And although the film is understated, it does have some funny aspects.  The characters talk about things that affect everyday life and very modern topics, such as influencers, money, and the wealth disparity between different countries.

However, Noemí is generally a reserved person, and this translates into her not showing much emotion.  It was admirable that she seemed to not be too affected by the circumstances and events happening around her, but it also caused me to not get as emotionally invested in her character and predicament as I expected to be.  And the film also, for whatever reason, skips some pivotal aspects of her story.  There is a scene that I thought was an important point that occurred completely off camera.  And the opposite of this is that some scenes will seem to linger a little longer than I thought.  Two people staring into the distance for 3 or 4 seconds longer than anticipated, an awkward scene that continues for a little bit longer than I had hoped, there are all these little additions that contributed to the story seeming slow.  A film that was released earlier dealing with a similar topic, Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always, had a similar feel, except it really let the emotions fly when it was time, leading to a sequence of events that did affect you and stayed with you long after the film.  Noemi Gold is a well put together movie with interesting characters, but I just didn't have the same emotional investment.  

Noemi Gold has an understated, relatable story with a host of interesting, quirky characters in a slice of life drama that provides a window into life and abortion rights in Argentina. 

Rent it.

If you liked this review and want to see more from Watch or Pass, please consider 

following us on our various social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube.   Noemi Gold premieres on Topic on Thursday, November 19.