On the night of her college graduation, Natalie Bennett takes a pregnancy test after sleeping with her friend Gabe. The story then follows two versions of her life, one in which she stays in Austin to raise a baby and one in which she moves to Los Angeles to build a career in animation. Both versions face stress in love, work, family, and money, while Natalie tries to keep control of her future. The tone is warm and hopeful, with light jokes around serious choices.
The clearest woke element is the film’s focus on a woman’s right to choose her path after an unplanned pregnancy. Gabe says he is “pro your choice,” and the movie treats motherhood and a life without motherhood as equally valid. Natalie also insists that becoming a mother should not erase her creative goals, and a small side story shows her friend Cara in a relationship with another woman. The movie presents these ideas as supportive life advice, but it does not build a larger political campaign or attack religion, family, or business.
Community feedback
Was our 47% Woke rating accurate?
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Look Both Ways.
Woke representation / casting
The film gives prominent roles to black women Cara and Lucy and to Latino actor Danny Ramirez as Gabe. The repeated use of women of color as the best friend and celebrated mentor makes representation easy to see. The Austin and Los Angeles setting makes the mix believable, so the casting does not suggest a major mismatch. The film’s public framing stresses women and working mothers more than a diversity-first casting plan.
18%
Woke political dialogue
During the pregnancy discussion, Gabe tells Natalie that he is “pro your choice.” The line clearly supports a woman’s control over whether to continue the pregnancy. The film does not return to party politics, abortion law, or activist speeches. The political message is brief, but it is tied to the main conflict.
16%
Identity-driven story themes
The film builds its whole story around a young woman’s two futures after an unplanned pregnancy. It presents motherhood and a future without motherhood as valid paths, and it says Natalie can keep her creative goals in either one. A smaller subplot shows Cara in a same-sex relationship with another woman. The film treats personal choice, female independence, and this relationship as positive parts of ordinary life.
45%
Western institutional / cultural critique
The film pushes back against the idea that a woman must give up her career when she becomes a mother. Natalie struggles with losing her identity, while the story praises a supportive father and family network. The movie does not attack religion, capitalism, men as a group, or named Western institutions. Its critique stays focused on gender expectations and work-family pressure.
22%
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. The film is an original story and does not change an established character, canon, or historical event.
0%
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
One Rotten Tomatoes audience review says the movie is “so woke it’s impossible to watch.” The comment gives no detail about which scene caused the complaint. Other audience comments and reviews were mixed, but most did not call the movie woke. No broad anti-woke campaign or organized backlash was found.
5%
Creator track record context
Director Wanuri Kahiu has a strong identity-driven record through Rafiki, a lesbian romance that faced censorship in Kenya, and her support for LGBTQ visibility. Lili Reinhart has publicly supported LGBTQ causes, Black Lives Matter, body acceptance, and mental health, and she also produced this film. Interviews tied this movie to women’s choices, working mothers, and support for a woman’s right to choose. Writer April Prosser and most other cached producers have little or no activist record.
70%
Production
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