WASHINGTON, D.C., April 10, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – In his latest gesture of solidarity with the pro-life movement, President Donald Trump will host a screening of Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer at the White House on Friday.
Gosnell tells the true story of Philadelphia abortionist Dr. Kermit Gosnell’s arrest, trial, and conviction for the first-degree murder of three born-alive babies and the involuntary manslaughter of patient Karnamaya Mongar. It’s based “very heavily on actual court transcripts,” “dozens of hours of interviews” with Gosnell himself, and the case’s grand jury report.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the news of the screening on Tuesday, detailing a simple invitation containing instructions on how to obtain security clearances and enter the White House. Neither the White House nor co-producer Phelim Mcaleer responded to the Reporter’s requests for comment, but the film’s official Twitter account confirmed the news on Wednesday:
Gosnell Movie@GosnellMovieWe are so thankful & thrilled this is happening! The @WhiteHouse is screening the #GosnellMovie this Friday. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/anti-abortion-movie-gosnell-screen-at-white-house-1200606?fbclid=IwAR0Lc58a9a1-KfaRNWq17GQ4PxGMM9kQPlzbJv6nukEV6UTdb88IRgg7z6A …
Describing Gosnell as “gory,” Slate’s Ruth Graham claimed it “depicts second- and third-trimester abortions in gruesome detail,” which Vanity Fair’s Yohana Desta repeated. Dean Cain and co-star/director Nick Searcy took umbrage at those characterizations of the film:
Dean Cain
✔@RealDeanCain
There is nothing “gory” in the film Gosnell. That’s a flat-out lie. Raw emotion makes this film tough to watch, not gore.
Slate
✔@Slate
The White House will screen Gosnell just a few weeks after another bloody anti-abortion film, Unplanned, opened at No. 4 at the box office. https://slate.trib.al/aCIIVRY
Nick Searcy, INTERNATIONAL FILM & TELEVISION STAR
✔@yesnicksearcy
It’s amazing how the leftists at @VanityFair can’t help but lie about @gosnellmovie. There are no graphic depictions of abortions in the PG-13 movie. Why must they make things up? White House Reportedly Hosting Screening of Controversial Film https://apple.news/A0tc_dnaoSy-_bE2MjsPMzg …
White House Reportedly Hosting Screening of Controversial Anti-Abortion Film
The movie, Gosnell, includes graphic depictions of abortion.
apple.news
Graham defended her use of the word “gory” by citing Focus on the Family’s Plugged In review of Gosnell, which notes that the film includes brief shots of baby feet the abortionist preserved in jars as well as a decomposing cat in his basement. But she didn’t address the larger point that while the film describes abortion procedures, it contains no visual depictions of them:
Ruth Graham
✔@publicroad
It is fascinating to me that the movie’s fans (and stars!) are fixating on the word “gory” here. “Gory” is not a judgment, it is a factual description of this movie, which plays up the promise of horror by calling Gosnell a “serial killer” in its own subtitle. 1/2
Dean Cain
✔@RealDeanCain
There is nothing “gory” in the film Gosnell. That’s a flat-out lie. Raw emotion makes this film tough to watch, not gore. https://twitter.com/slate/status/1115753302392823808 …
Ruth Graham
✔@publicroad
Here is an excerpt from the positive review from Focus on the Family. Is it a horror film? No. It’s primarily a courtroom drama. But it doesn’t shy away from showing what Gosnell did.
Ruth Graham
✔@publicroad
Anyway, I’m confused about why “gory” is seen as a criticism. The anti-abortion drama “Unplanned” is even gorier—it’s rated R, while “Gosnell” is PG-13—and it has been widely praised by pro-life activists for its rawness and realism. Both films use “gore” to make a point.
