Single Mother by Choice

Directed by Dan Levy Dagerman, Single Mother by Choice follows Selina Ringel’s Eva Garcia as she makes the decision to have a baby by herself and subsequently begins preparing for the child’s arrival. Filmmaker Dagerman, working from a script written with Ringel, has infused Single Mother by Choice with an exceedingly (and often excessively) rough-around-the-edges feel that remains an obvious distraction from start to finish, with, for example, the almost astonishingly poor sound design obscuring large chunks of dialogue, and it goes without saying that Dagerman’s ongoing efforts at transforming Eva into a wholeheartedly interesting (and sympathetic) figure fall distressingly flat. There’s little doubt, then, that Single Mother by Choice‘s tolerable atmosphere is due in large part to Ringel’s stirring, periodically fearless performance as the often unlikable central character, while the decision to incorporate real-life events into the narrative, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd, admittedly does pave the way for a second half that’s periodically more involving and compelling than one might’ve anticipated. And although the film does, even at just 83 minutes, feel a little on the long side, Single Mother by Choice, buoyed by a satisfying conclusion, ultimately comes off as a decent-enough drama that does, generally speaking, function best as a calling card for both Dagerman and Ringel.

**1/2 out of ****