Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
For a lot of people around the world, family is tolerable only in small doses. So, when three estranged sisters decide to take turns looking after their dying father, expecting him to kick the bucket any day, tensions run high between them due to their differences in the small New York apartment.
Directed and written by Azazel Jacobs, “His Three Daughters” stars Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne, and Elizabeth Olsen as awkward siblings Katie, Rachel, and Christina. Carrie Coon’s Katie is the oldest one, the control-freak type, highly opinionated, slightly neurotic, and mean. Rachel is the one who’s been living with their dad but is constantly stoned, doesn’t have a regular job, and is viewed as a laidback leech from Katie’s POV. Elizabeth Olsen’s character, the youngest sibling Christina, who lives the furthest away, is the only mildly likable sister and is very passionate about music and yoga. They’re all on edge over when their dad might die.
The first half hour of “His Three Daughters” is painfully slow and comes off as a bizarre mix of realism and theatrics – the conversations between the sisters are both mundane yet have a stage-like quality, as in they often don’t sound like real banter between siblings. The sisters come off as strangers, so you don’t know if it’s because they are supposed to be extremely estranged from each other or because the dialogue writers couldn’t write more authentic lines.
Fortunately, the tone of “His Three Daughters” shifts in the second half, and from being unreal, slow, and testing, it finally gains a more emotional, relatable atmosphere – when the sisters finally confront their unresolved issues. The first half is quite challenging to watch since you aren’t sure why there’s so much bad blood between the sisters, but towards the climactic moments, their strained dynamics become understandable. Will they be able to reconcile and mend their relationship in their moment of grief? That’s sort of the crux of the film, which largely unfolds within the confines of the characters’ New York apartment, reflective of their suffocating ties. There’s minimal use of background music, and the lack of noise is perfect white noise for this small, character-driven drama.
Viewers don’t even get to see the father (played by Jay O. Sanders) until the climactic moments begin to roll in, which is one of the best-timed decisions in “His Three Daughters.” For the most part, the father is a shadow; we only see the door to the room where he is lying in tubes, never getting a glimpse of him until there’s a cathartic conversation between the women. The climax comes like a gut punch, with the dreaded loss materializing in a very unexpected manner. Director Azazel Jacobs employs a clever cinematic trope to deceive viewers for a bit, delivering a darkly comedic ending laced with grief, relief, tears, and some laughter.
If you have the patience for slow-moving independent movies about broken families, “His Three Daughters” is a watch-worthy film with terrific performances by stars Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne, and Elizabeth Olsen.
Rating: 7 on 10. Watch ‘His Three Daughters’ on Netflix.
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