In vitro fertilization is considered by many to be a miracle. It’s still controversial in some circles, as was seen in the recent election, when politicians made often contradictory pronouncements about it.
But “Joy,” a biographical treatment of Jean Purdy, one of the pioneers of the science, while certainly waving the flag for the procedure, is primarily concerned with the human story behind the creation of I.V.F. It sets out to redress an imbalance — that the real-life Purdy, a nurse, was long unacknowledged for her work.
This is one of those pictures where the actors outdo the conventional material they are given to work with. Thomasin McKenzie plays Purdy in a scenario that plays out over a decade. It begins in a British medical school with Purdy intrigued by the unorthodox theories on infertility put forth by Bill Nighy as Dr. Patrick Steptoe. Purdy, Steptoe and another doctor played with agreeable masculinity by James Norton team up and begin experimenting, understanding that their approach would attract disapprobation from religious and societal factions.
And so it does — Jean is anonymously sent a doll with the word “sinner” scrawled across it in red marker. But she persists.
The director, Ben Taylor, keeps the momentum up despite his weakness for marking the passage of time with eyebrow-raising needle drops. The movie is most effective in creating a rooting interest for Purdy’s character, while the maestro Nighy gets a nice juicy monologue at the end that he of course makes a meal of.
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