Joy

Joy follows the race to birth the first baby conceived outside the womb in 1970s Britain. A determined nurse, a visionary fertility scientist, and an inventive surgeon join forces to push a controversial medical frontier past a chorus of doubters. They confront religious authorities opposed to the manipulation of life, government and media scrutiny, and a medical establishment wary of risk. Each day they weigh ethical questions against the promise of a new kind of parenthood as late nights in crowded hospital corridors give way to tense funding negotiations and public debate. The target becomes Louise Joy Brown, a name that stands in for hope and fear about how science changes family beginnings.

Joy is directed by Ben Taylor with a screenplay credited to Jack Thorne and Rachel Mason, drawing on Emma Gordon's material about the IVF pioneers. The film arrives in 2024 as a historical drama rooted in real events, layering period detail with intimate performances from a tight ensemble.

Joy invites audiences into a tense clash where faith, politics, and science collide. By spotlighting the human cost behind a medical milestone, the film contributes to ongoing debates about reproductive rights, informed consent, and how media shapes public memory of medical breakthroughs. The hospital corridors, boardrooms, and press halls become stages for the pressure and the persistence behind a historical moment.

Joy examines the ethical stakes of a breakthrough, the tension between patient welfare and scientific ambition, and the way public opinion can shape medical policy. The story centers nurses and clinicians as active agents rather than mere witnesses in a landmark moment, highlighting the personal costs borne by families and teams when life changing decisions are made.

Box office data for Joy has not been widely reported, and the film's commercial performance remains unclear. Despite a limited release, audiences praise the cast's work and the historical focus rather than blockbuster numbers, with streaming likely extending its life.