Ever since Roe v. Wade, the United States has been deeply divided on the issue of abortion. In that landmark case, an unmarried pregnant woman was refused an abortion in Texas and, with the ensuing judicial challenge, won American women the right to safe, legal abortions. Ever since, proponents and opponents have lined up on either side of the issue, launching verbal abuse—and worse—at each other. As the religious right has increased in size and power in the past decade, the issue has become even more divisive —and violent.

Filmmaker Tony Kaye, best known for American History X, worked on Lake of Fire for more than fifteen years and has created a work of extraordinary complexity and depth. A remarkable collection and range of interviewees—including Noam Chomsky, Nat Hentoff, Alan Dershowitz, Randall Terry and Norma McCorvey (Jane Doe) to name a very few—speak directly to the camera, and Kaye gracefully mixes the talking heads with riveting scenes of protests, trials and surgical procedures, balancing philosophy and personal drama. Even Kaye’s use of luminous black & white (and the film is beautiful) is an esthetic choice that parallels the subject, for what seems to be a matter of black and white is really an endless palette of grays.