Netflix’s ‘Joy’ loudly cheers on fertility, never-give-ups and science – Winnipeg Free Press

Near the end of Netflix’s “Joy,” a newborn baby’s muffled cry prompts a man and woman in the hospital to embrace each other in pure bliss. They are not parents, but they had as much involvement in the birth as mother and father.

This fascinating and award-winning film tells the decade-long true story of how the world’s first IVF baby was born in England in 1978; a 5-pound, 12-ounce girl who paved the way for millions of babies. It’s a cheerful, very British affair that mixes a serious discussion of endometriosis with chocolate biscuits.

The couple who embraced that day were pioneering scientist Robert Edwards and young nurse and embryologist Jean Purdy. Together with surgeon Patrick Steptoe, the trio achieved in vitro fertilization, a treatment for infertility. Edwards would go on to win the Nobel Prize.

“Joy” was born at a time when science in America — even in vitro fertilization — was under threat, so it’s absolutely inspiring to see brave, smart scientists working hard to change the world. “What we do matters,” says Steptoe, whose Bill Nighy portrays the silent economy.

“Joy” tells the personal stories of three scientists; mostly through the eyes of Purdy, a gentle warrior in a lab coat. “If I hear a commotion, I’m not very good at staying out of it,” he says. Played superbly by Thomasin McKenzie, Purdy is both vulnerable and strong; learning to be a better person in the process. James Norton portrays Edwards with charm, self-doubt and a calm spirit.

Jack Thorne’s script beautifully explains the immense pressure the trio faces. In vitro fertilization may have become commonplace and uncontroversial in recent years, but in the late 70s it was experimental and avoided. The Anglican church called it a sin, newspapers labeled it Frankenstein-esque, and other scientists warned about freak babies. “You realize they’re going to throw the book at us,” Nighy’s Steptoe tells the team. “We will unite them all against ourselves.”

As the ’60s turn into the ’70s, Purdy, a single woman, is exiled by her own religious mother – “You can’t play God in this,” the older woman tells her daughter – and is uninvited by her church. It doesn’t matter. “This fight is ours. We have no choice,” Purdy says. The film also celebrates the brave mothers-to-be who are willing to poke and prod their bodies at the edge of science.