''If These Walls Could Talk'' is a 1996 American

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

, broadcast on HBO. It follows the plights of three different women and their experiences with

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

. Each of the three stories takes place in the same house, 22 years apart: 1952, 1974, and 1996. All three segments were co-written by

Nancy Savoca Nancy Laura Savoca (born July 23, 1959) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Early life and education Nancy Laura Savoca was born in 1959 in the Bronx, New York, to Argentine and Sicilian immigrants Maria Elvira and Carlos S ...

. Savoca directed the first and second segment while

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

directed the third. The women's experiences in each vignette are designed to demonstrate the popular views of society on the issue in each of the given decades. Debuting at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

, ''If These Walls Could Talk'' became a surprise success and was the highest-rated movie in HBO history. It was nominated for four

Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

, including for Outstanding Television Movie and three

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

, including Best Miniseries or Television Film.

Plot

1952

The 1952 segment deals with Claire Donnelly, a widowed nurse living in suburban

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, who becomes pregnant by her brother-in-law and decides to undergo abortion in order not to hurt her late husband's family. However, abortion at the time is strictly illegal. Claire eventually finds another nurse who provides her the phone number of a woman who can find her someone to perform the abortion. The woman on the phone tells Claire that the only trustworthy care provider she knows is located in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

, and Claire cannot afford the travel costs—with air fare and hotel costs, the total trip would cost about $1000 (about $10,800 in 2022). After a failed attempt to end her pregnancy with a

knitting needle A knitting needle or knitting pin is a tool in hand-knitting to produce knitted fabrics. They generally have a long shaft and taper at their end, but they are not nearly as sharp as sewing needles. Their purpose is two-fold. The long shaft ' ...

, Claire contacts a man who comes to her home and performs a clandestine, hasty procedure on her while she lies atop her kitchen table. Claire finally manages to abort, but dies shortly afterwards due to massive blood loss.

1974

The 1974 segment deals with Barbara Barrows, a struggling and aging mother with four children and a night-shift-working policeman husband, who discovers she is pregnant, despite having recently gone back to college. She considers abortion with the support of her teenage daughter, but ultimately chooses to keep the child.

1996

The 1996 segment deals with Christine Cullen, a college student pregnant by a married professor, who decides on an abortion when he breaks up with her and only offers her money. After consulting with her roommate she makes an appointment with Dr. Beth Thompson. However, the abortion takes place during a violent protest and, during the actual abortion, an anti-abortion protester walks in and shoots Dr. Thompson immediately after she completes the procedure. Christine comforts Dr. Thompson as the doctor slowly bleeds out.

Cast

1952 segment *

Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After making her film debut in 1981, Moore appeared on the soap opera '' General Hospital'' (1982–1984) and subsequently gained recognition as a member of the Br ...

as Claire Donnelly * Shirley Knight as Mary Donnelly *

Catherine Keener Catherine Ann Keener (born March 26, 1959) is an American actress. She has portrayed disgruntled and melancholic yet sympathetic women in independent films, as well as supporting roles in studio films. She has been nominated twice for the Acad ...

as Becky Donnelly *

Jason London Jason Paul London (born November 7, 1972) is an American actor, known for his roles as Randall "Pink" Floyd in director Richard Linklater's film '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993), as Jesse in '' The Rage: Carrie 2'' (1999) and as Rick Rambis in '' O ...

as Kevin Donnelly *

CCH Pounder Carol Christine Hilaria Pounder (born December 25, 1952) is a Guyanese-American actress. She has received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her roles in ''The X-Files'', '' ER'', '' The Shield'', and ''The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agenc ...

as Jenny Ford 1974 segment *

Hedy Burress Heather E. "Hedy" Burress (born October 3, 1973) is an American actress. She had a starring role in the film ''Foxfire'' as Maddy, and later landed roles in television shows ''Boston Common'' and '' E.R.'' In the video game world, she is best kn ...

as Linda Barrows *

Sissy Spacek Mary Elizabeth Spacek (; born December 25, 1949) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and nominations for four Britis ...

as Barbara Barrows *

Joanna Gleason Joanna Gleason (née Hall; born June 2, 1950) is a Canadian actress and singer. She is a Tony Award–winning musical theatre actress and has also had a number of notable film and TV roles. She's known for originating the role of the Baker's Wife ...

as Julia * Xander Berkeley as John Barrows *

Janna Michaels Janna Michaels (born July 9, 1983) is an American former child actress. She voiced Molly Cunningham on Disney's ''TaleSpin''. Michaels was a regular on the short-lived television series, '' What a Dummy''. She later had a recurring role on ''Dr ...

as Sally Barrows *

Ian Bohen Ian Stuart Bohen (born September 24, 1976) is an American actor best known for his role as Peter Hale in MTV's ''Teen Wolf'' and as Ryan in Paramount Network's drama series ''Yellowstone''. Bohen also appeared in a recurring role as Roy Hazelitt A ...

as Scott Barrows * Zack Eginton as Ryan Barrows 1996 segment *

Anne Heche Anne Celeste Heche ( ; May 25, 1969August 11, 2022) was an American actress, known for her roles in a variety of genres in film, television, and theater, receiving numerous accolades, including a National Board of Review Award and multiple Emmy ...

as Christine Cullen *

as Dr. Beth Thompson *

Jada Pinkett Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (; née Pinkett; born September 18, 1971) is an American actress and talk show host. She is co-host of the Facebook Watch talk show '' Red Table Talk'', for which she has received a Daytime Emmy Award. ''Time'' named ...

as Patti *

Eileen Brennan Eileen Brennan (born Verla Eileen Regina Brennen; September 3, 1932 – July 28, 2013) was an American actress. She made her film debut in the satire '' Divorce American Style'' (1967), followed by a supporting role in Peter Bogdanovich's ''The ...

as Tessie *

Lindsay Crouse Lindsay Ann Crouse is a retired American actress. She made her Broadway debut in the 1972 revival of ''Much Ado About Nothing'' and appeared in her first film in 1976 in ''All the President's Men''. For her role in the 1984 film ''Places in the ...

as Frances White * Craig T. Nelson as Jim Harris *

Matthew Lillard Matthew Lyn Lillard (born January 24, 1970) is an American actor. His early film work includes Chip Sutphin in ''Serial Mom'' (1994), Emmanuel "Cereal Killer" Goldstein in '' Hackers'' (1995), Stu Macher in '' Scream'' (1996), Stevo in ''SLC Pu ...

as protester *

Rita Wilson Rita Wilson (born Margarita Ibrahimoff; October 26, 1956) is an American actress, singer, and producer. Her film appearances include ''Volunteers'' (1985), '' Sleepless in Seattle'' (1993), '' Now and Then'' (1995), ''That Thing You Do!'' (1996) ...

as Leslie *

Diana Scarwid Diana Elizabeth Scarwid (born August 27, 1955) is a retired American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Christina Crawford in '' Mommie Dearest'' (1981). She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress ...

as Marcia Schulman *

Lorraine Toussaint Lorraine Toussaint () is a Trinidadian-American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Black Reel Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Toussaint began her career in theatre before ...

as Shameeka Webb

Development

As executive producer, Moore spent seven years trying to get the film made, until the project was eventually

greenlit To green-light is to give permission to proceed with a project. The term is a reference to the green traffic signal, indicating "go ahead". Film industry In the context of the film and television industries, to green-light something is to ...

by HBO. HBO vice president

Colin Callender Sir Colin Nigel Callender (born May 1952) is a British television, film and theater producer. He is the CEO at Playground Entertainment, a production company with offices in New York and London. Early life and education Callender was born to ...

said "I don't believe there's a studio in the world that would finance this picture" and praised Moore and Cher for having the courage to use their celebrity to address the issue of abortion. Cher commented "It took someone with Demi's power and fortitude to have something like this made. Without that power, you couldn't do it. These topics are not on everybody's top 10 list of things to do."

Reception

The film received mostly positive reviews from critics. ''If These Walls Could Talk'' holds an 88% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

based on eight reviews. Among the positive reviews were Siskel & Ebert, who both gave the film "Two Thumbs Up."

Sequel

A sequel anthology, ''

If These Walls Could Talk 2 ''If These Walls Could Talk 2'' is a 2000 television film in the United States, broadcast on HBO. It is a sequel to the 1996 HBO film ''If These Walls Could Talk'', and like the earlier film is a female-centered anthology film, with three separat ...

,'' aired in 2000. The subject addressed in it was

lesbianism A lesbian is a homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with fema ...

Awards and nominations

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

**Outstanding Made for Television Movie (''nomination'') **Outstanding Editing for a Miniseries or a Special – Single Camera Production (''nomination'') **Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries or a Special (''nomination'') *

** Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV (''nomination'') ** Best Lead Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV – Demi Moore (''nomination'') ** Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV – Cher (''nomination'') *

NAACP Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

**Outstanding Lead Actress in a Television Movie or Mini-Series – Jada Pinkett Smith (''nomination'') *National Educational Media Network, USA **Gold Apple (won) *

Satellite Awards The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...

**Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV (''nomination'') **Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV – Cher (''nomination'') * Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards ** Lucy Award (2000) to the Creators and Cast of ''If These Walls Could Talk'' and ''

'' *** in recognition of excellence and innovation in a creative work that has enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television

References

External links

* * {{Nancy Savoca 1996 television films 1996 films 1996 drama films 1996 thriller films 1990s feminist films American thriller drama films American drama television films Films about abortion Films directed by Cher Films directed by Nancy Savoca Films scored by Cliff Eidelman Films set in 1952 Films set in 1974 Films set in 1996 Films set in Chicago HBO Films films American thriller television films Films set in the 1950s Films set in the 1970s Films set in the 1990s 1990s English-language films 1990s American films