Joy screened at the BFI London Film Festival and will be released in cinemas on November 15 and on Netflix on November 22.
History largely remains the preserve of men. Men still dominate historical textbooks, films and documentaries, while far too many women continue to be sidelined, from Rosalind Franklin and her role in discovering DNA to Jocelyn Bell Burnell, who discovered pulsars in 1967 as a student studying at Cambridge University. Or how about Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the singer who inspired Elvis and Emilie Du Châtelet, whose translation and notes on the works of Newton remain a bible for scientists today? Then there was Jean Purdy, the nurse who pioneered IVF treatment alongside the biologist Robert Edwards and obstetrician Dr Patrick Steptoe. Purdy died aged just 39 from cancer in 1985, and her name was all but removed from the official scientific record for decades after her death, despite Robert Edwards fighting for inclusion. In 1998, Edwards stated, “There were three original pioneers in IVF and not just two.” Yet it took another two decades before Jean Purdy’s role began to receive the attention it deserved.
In June 2024, Gareth Farr’s Bristol Old Vic play would dramatise Purdy, Edward’s, and Steptoe’s work in A Child of Science. Joy further explores Jean Purdy’s essential role in bringing hope to millions alongside Edwards and Steptoe and her belief in choice, freedom, and love in reproductive care and treatment. Beliefs that were constantly tested by public outrage, religious debate and scientific disagreements led by public figures such as James Watson.
Set over a ten-year period in Purdy’s life that would culminate in the birth of the first vitro fertilisation baby, Louise ‘Joy’ Brown, on July 25, 1978, Ben Taylor’s film, written by Jack Thorne, Rachel Mason, Emma Gordon and Shaun Topp is a loving tribute to Purdy, Edwards and Steptoe and all the women who put themselves forward for trials. From Jean Purdy’s (Thomasin McKenzie) first meeting with Robert Edwards (James Norton) at Cambridge University, where she secured the role of a research assistant in the Department of Physiology, to their meeting with Oldham-based obstetrician Dr Patrick Steptoe (Bill Nighy), whose revolutionary techniques could make their research a reality, Joy is an utter joy.
Joy never shies away from the challenges of medical research and reproductive care in a country where moral and public opinion were held hostage by social conservatism. While many see the 1960s and early 1970s as a period of social change and transformation, church, state and press were frequently still stuck in the 1950s (some would argue aspects of these institutions still are), leading to years of conflict that largely dismissed the pain and longing of women and their partners who found themselves unable to have children. The press focused on untrue and damaging stories of ‘Frankenstein babies who would have congenital disabilities, the church on the dangers of humans playing god and the state, and the medical establishment on the unneeded research that they believed would achieve little.
Purdy’s mother, the consistently brilliant Joanna Scanlan, brilliantly demonstrates the heat and impact of this moral panic as she cuts off her daughter due to her Christian beliefs, which Jean shares but from a perspective her mum can’t see or understand. At the same time, Jean continues to hide her diagnosis of endometriosis from everyone but Patrick Steptoe and a few of the women who bravely put themselves forward for clinical trials, forming a group called the Ovum Club. Here, Joy beautifully explores the social barriers faced in discussions on reproductive care, many of which were formed through religious beliefs, shame, fear and social and sexual oppression.
Some will argue that Joy is too light, frothy, and dependent on a selection of ’60s and ’70s needle drops for added emotional impact. And in some respects, those critics are right. While Ben Taylor’s shift from TV shows like Sex Education to feature-length films is confident and beautifully directed, it does, at times, lean too heavily on a range of tried-and-tested narrative devices. However, despite these minor flaws, McKenzie, Norton, and Nighy ensure that Joy excels in its dramatic impact and emotional power as they capture the passion, fear, courage, and joy of their ten-year journey to “make the impossible possible.”
Joy is a loving tribute to Purdy and all the women who volunteered for clinical trials, despite the moral panic surrounding them. It is a heartwarming journey into the bravery, tenacity, and resolve of scientists, researchers, nurses, and doctors who offer hope to those who feel lost. It is the story of one of the greatest moments in reproductive medical history and the women (and men) who made the impossible possible. At a memorial service for Jean Purdy in 2018, Louise Brown said, “My mum always talked about Jean and said she was an unsung hero and that without her, IVF babies may never have been a reality”. Joy finally celebrates Purdy’s role and offers a long-overdue thank you to the woman and women who made IVF a reality for millions.
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