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The few people who have reviewed The Virgin of Highland Park seem to rate it highly. In fact, it must be one of the highest rated mediocre movies I've seen.

It creates an amazingly contrived scenario, ultimately for no purpose except to promote a pro-choice position. The way they chose to frame the subject is baffling and weird and ultimately not relevant to the main theme. How virgin pregnancy is a helpful plot device here is unclear, unless it's just misdirection to help lure viewers into something mysterious and then hit them with the real point.

Just to be clear, I'm personally pro-choice, but I'm also pro good filmmaking and this one just isn't.

The moral hand-wringing of Christian youth is inherently boring and trite, though it could be hilarious in the right hands. In terms of writing and direction, these are not the right hands. It's just schlock. Don't bother.

It's clearly inspired by BBC Humans and its Swedish progenitor, but that's not a big strike against it. I'm halfway through the two-season combo that Netflix is calling season one and enjoying it. Keeping in mind that I like it, I can't help but notice how it reflects Russia's current state of being ultra modern but socially a step behind. There is pretty much no female cast member that couldn't do fashion modeling as a side job, men hold every seat of power, everybody is straight, and the competent women tend to be assistants and sidekicks. The only average-looking woman I've seen so far was was brought in specifically to be fat-shamed by a robot. I'm an American who loves Russia, and I offer this in a humorous spirit, but let's just say it feels very much in character for a Russian production.