Filmmaker Azazel Jacobs follows up the highly mannered (and highly strung) French Exit (2020) with a slow-burn study of sibling rivalry, parental mortality and the ties that bind. The trio of sisters at the heart of this stagey drama arrive in the Bronx apartment of their dying father to watch over his final moments, their differences marked.
Kate (Carrie Coon) is a tightly wound control freak nursing biting resentment for her half-sister Rachel (Natasha Lyonne), a pot-smoking gambler who has cared for Dad throughout his illness and lives in the apartment.
The mediator between the two is middle sis Christina (Elizabeth Olsen), a sweet soul who does yoga between the mismatched furniture and misses the new family she has created hundreds of miles away. As the three discuss DNR orders, food prep and – inevitably – the past, the true nature of their relationships – with each other, with Dad – comes into stark view.
Though initially brittle (both in terms of performance and tone) and difficult to fully engage with, this meditation on family dynamics and the pressures on women as caregivers warms up thanks largely to Lyonne’s earthy presence. Showing up with a spliff, sports jersey and a musical accent, she’s immediately different, sympathetic and real in an environment of unspoken slights.
The emotional resonance she conjures eventually extends to the other characters, with the film building to a moving moment that’s all the better for being played with a whimsical touch. There’s solid support, too, from Jovan Adepo (Babylon, 3 Body Problem), whose turn as Rachel’s no-BS boyfriend is instrumental in earning the film its satisfying wrap-up.
His Three Daughters is released in selected US theaters and UK cinemas on September 6 before coming to Netflix on September 20.
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