YMMV / October Baby

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Given the numerous inconsistencies in the personalities and behavior of the characters, this trope was inevitable.
  • Is Hannah justified in her search, a walking Wangst factor, or a combination of the two?
  • Is Jacob a loving, if tough, father, or just an irresponsible, abusive Jerkass?
  • Is Hannah's biological mother a Jerkass Woobie or just a strawman?
• Anvilicious: Abortion is pretty bad. The movie makes no attempt at subtlety.
• Critical Dissonance:
  • The movie received horrible reviews (Making number three on the A.V. Club's worst movies of 2012), but among conservative Christian audiences, it might as well be Blade Runner.
  • The film currently has a 6.7 rating on IMDB. Make of that what you will.
• Cliché Storm: The film reads like a litany of every Gene Hunting film ever made. Wangst, an overprotective, no-nonsense adoptive dad, and self-centered birth parent, the list goes on.
• Cult Classic: It looks set to become this, given its massive popularity in the pro-life community.
• Designated Hero:
  • Hannah. She may have had a hard birth and does suffer from passing out, but she does quite a few criminal acts and spends much of the movie being an emo jerkass.
  • Jacob.
• Designated Villain: Hannah's biological mother. We never really see her side of the story or why she wanted the abortion. All we get to see that she’s a supposedly cold and selfish woman who didn’t want to be a mother. When Hannah sees her, she’s instantly consumed with rage at the sight of her, and doesn’t bother speaking to her.
• One-Scene Wonder: Rodney Clark steals the show as a priest in a late scene.
• Unintentionally Sympathetic: Hannah's biological mother, whom some viewers see as a Jerkass Woobie. We really only see her from Hannah's point of view, so we don't really see her side of the story.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic:
  • Jacob, who can be seen controlling, overprotective or even downright abusive towards Hannah.
  • Hannah herself (see Designated Hero above).
• Wangst: Plenty of it, courtesy of Hannah.

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