Doula

The film takes place primarily in a modern urban home where Deb and Silvio prepare for the birth, with Sascha living there as their doula. The story also includes scenes at a hospital as Deb considers medical intervention, and features a funeral held in the same domestic space.

The film is set in contemporary present-day times, featuring modern medical options like midwives and birth plans, hospital visits, video calls with family, and current technology. The atmosphere reflects a recognizable urban lifestyle balancing career, relationships, and impending parenthood.

The film explores three interconnected themes: Birth Choices, which centers on Deb's agency over how she wants to give birth contrasting home birth with hospital options; Family Dynamics, showing how different generations and relationships within a home influence expectations and boundaries; and Boundaries, examining how caregiving roles are shared or contested as the couple navigates control, trust, and emotional proximity.

Deb is the expectant mother in the film, portrayed by Troian Bellisario. She is on maternity leave and wants to deliver at home while asserting autonomy over her body. She grapples with anxiety about motherhood and the fear of losing her identity once the baby arrives, making her the emotional core of the story's tension around birth decisions.

Sascha is the doula played by Will Greenberg who moves into the house to support Deb during her pregnancy. He becomes a trusted helper in the birth process but also creates tension between Deb and Silvio as his involvement deepens. His presence tests boundaries and shapes the emotional landscape of the household.

Silvio is Deb's artist boyfriend portrayed by Arron Shiver. He hopes for a home birth and is often away for work but emotionally invested in the pregnancy. His frustration with Sascha's presence reveals fractures in his relationship with Deb, and he experiences a moment of clarity after a hallucinogenic experience while struggling with the practicalities of becoming a parent.

Will is Silvio's teenage son portrayed by Miles Glanville who will live with Deb and Silvio. His arrival heightens the sense of family disruption and accelerates Deb's fear of losing her identity as both a person and a mother. He adds another layer of complexity to the household's balance of care and authority.

In the film, a doula is a trained birth companion who provides emotional and practical support to an expectant mother. Sascha moves into the home to assist with birth preparation, while Penka serves as a seasoned doula who mentors the couple. The film portrays how doulas support birth choices while also becoming emotionally invested in the family.

The central conflict revolves around Deb's desire for a home birth versus the medical recommendations for a hospital birth. This tension between home and hospital options becomes a vehicle for exploring Deb's autonomy over her body, the pressure she feels from medical advice, and how birth decisions can redefine a couple's relationship and trust.

The arrival of both Sascha and Will intensifies household dynamics, pushing Deb to renegotiate her role as a partner and soon-to-be mother. The film shows how different relationships within a single space create expectations, support, and boundaries. The domestic home becomes a stage for love, conflict, and adaptation as the birth approaches.

The film explores emotional and relational boundaries: Deb fears losing her identity as an individual and as a mother, while Silvio's impulses and Sascha's involvement blur professional and personal lines. The narrative probes how caregiving roles are shared or contested, and how the couple navigates control and trust as the birth date approaches.

The film has a tense tone driven by escalating friction between the couple and the high-stakes nature of the impending birth, compounded by unresolved trauma. Despite being classified as a comedy, the emotional weight is heavy, anchored by grief over the doula's death, the protagonist's fear of not loving her child, and a medical scare after delivery.