His Three Daughters

I love this kind of movie, which keeps you engaged without needing too many resources, helping you slow down from your busy life. Excellent script, excellent acting and an important life lesson overall. It's a shame it didn't get more attention at the Oscars, sometimes life is unfair.

This is a very sensitive and authentic portrayal of the range of emotions entwined with “pre-grieving” someone’s passing. The siblings dynamic is brilliantly acted and is very sensitive and real. Speaking from personal experience of my father’s last days and of my relationship with my two brothers (three brothers in my case vs 3 sisters) this is well crafted stuff. The caregiver vs distant sisters and the guilt that can come from this dynamic is raw but very respectful. The hallucination near the end is spot on for how thoughts, dreams and memories can and do drift from reality. The film will not be for everyone however the work done on this production is exemplary - death is a tough subject to take on and examine as purposefully as this does.

I was excited to see this movie, and it didn't disappoint. While the movie is engaging for the first hour, it is the last fifteen minutes that really shine and give it an edge on similar movies. Without saying too much, I gasped out loud at one point, and the event on screen dramatically changed the message of the movie. Also, I would be remiss if I didn't call out the performance of Lyonne. While Coon and Olsen do a fabulous job, it is Lyonne that is the emotional center of the movie. I recently read an article where she said that she realized that most of her roles have been of a specific type (she was essentially playing roles that are masculine). In the second half of this movie, she really gets to stretch out and dig into the role - she kills it. I loved it.

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While there are a few lightly comedic moments I would not watch this looking for a laugh. It's a fairly engaging look at how three different women react to each other and to their father's imminent death - reasonably well-acted and passes the time. Given its themes of coming to terms with death and inter-family relationships and rivalries, which were approached seriously and sensitively, it is not surprising it was moving, but in the end I didn't walk away from it feeling it had given me any new insights into its subject matter.

I don't really like it when movies feel like a stage play. I was therefore not at all enthusiastic about "His Three Daughters" at the beginning. Long monologues with far too much exposition are simply not my thing. Fortunately, the dialog soon becomes much more natural, although the stagey feel never completely disappears.

However, the three leads—Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne, and Elizabeth Olsen—cast such a spell over you that it doesn't really matter anymore. Their interplay is really strong and makes this chamber drama about familial relationships in the face of impending loss a real highlight. By the end, there will certainly not be a dry eye in front of the screen. If the opening hadn't been so bumpy, I would certainly have rated this movie even higher.

At one point in this movie, a character comments about how books and movies often fail to depict death. As she's trying to explain what they lack, she's interrupted. Though she does come back to elaborate further, I feel like this interaction is a microcosm of what this movie is trying to do -- trying to depict grief differently but constantly being interrupted before it can get to anything of depth, so when the point eventually arrives, it has no weight behind it.

The movie depicts three daughters who have been forced back together due to their dying father being placed in hospice. Instead of approaching grief with the thunderous emotions that you'd expect from most dramas, this movie instead focuses far more on the mundane and the banal arguments between the three daughters. It's very understated, with little to no flashy cinematography or score, instead entirely relying on dialogue and acting akin to a teleplay. The movie certainly has star power, but while Carrie Coon is able to infuse her character with depth, I found Natasha Lyonne playing the same character she normally does without bringing anything new. Elizabeth Olsen feels almost alien in this movie, her fast-paced dialogue lacking the naturalism the others have. Having been oh-too-keenly aware of the feeling of watching and caring for a close relative in hospice, I did actually think the movie was able to capture some of it well. There is pressure building between each conversation, fault lines littering commonday tasks. The mundanity of it all is very much part of the journey. However, it's simply not engaging by itself. At times, it feels like watching paint dry. And the drama between the three sisters lacks the depth to make up for the boredom. I was expecting something meatier, more cathartic, and an attempt at some sort of insight. The movie just fails to deliver on these fronts, and without being able to even deliver on the acting across its three stars, there isn't much left in this movie to appreciate.

This movie will not be for everyone, but those who can put away their phone and distractions from the outside world may just get something out of it. It's a movie I wish was released theatrically for that reason. It wills you to pay attention, to not only the dialogue, but also the way the three daughters interact with one another. You may take something different out of this movie than the next guy; depending on your life experiences, family ties etc.. For me, being an only child, I couldn't grasp the sibling dynamic, though, someone else may. Or those who have lost close family members in a similar situation may see a different emotional value. But I could understand the characters singularly, and the weight these characters have in this situation are portrayed with some highly talented lead actresses. This movie does have "Oscar Contender" written like a neon sign around it, but I wouldn't be mad to see the name on a list at the end of the year.

Casting decision has been fantastic. Peak direction. Highly realistic. Good characters + Great acting.