September 23, 2024 · Watch the official trailer
Show not tell.
It’s an important part of life and an absolutely vital mantra in cinema that allows for deeper, richer audience engagement and propelling stories in a brisk, yet robust way to keep viewers’ attention.
While it’s not absolutely essential to gloss over important plot points or shave off time for character beats, the pacing at which a film runs can often determine the enjoyment of the movie for casual audiences taking a chance on something they might not normally gravitate towards.
Dialogue-heavy movies, especially slower burn dramas or films adapted from stage plays, often have a verbose nature to them that makes it difficult to keep audiences at the edge of their seats wanting more and requires special filmmakers and cast to hold an ever-wandering eye.
Writer/director Azazel Jacobs has delivered a quiet, yet complex family drama with “His Three Daughters,” a meticulous and thoughtful film that leans heavily into longer monologues and intricate discussions between estranged sisters that feels like a cinematic transposition of a Broadway stage show.
But what’s exceptionable about the film is the ways in which the evolving nature of the sisters’ relationships leaks out naturally over what has a documentarian-esque examination of real life rather than a superficial, contrived drama.
“His Three Daughters” spends almost its entire run time inside one New York City apartment as the titular characters convene during their father’s final days in home hospice care while dying of cancer and the unfortunate way they are brought together leads to soft, but impactful moments of inner clarity and an examination of what family truly means.
Veteran character actress Carrie Coon is demonstrative and powerful as the seemingly alpha leader of three, Katie, and her work, while specific and exacting, shows a fray along the edges that reflects Katie’s inability to come to terms with the impending loss of her father and what that would mean for her going forward in life.
Jacobs and Coon do a terrific job of showcasing Katie’s exasperation and inability to connect with members of her family in the apartment as well as offscreen via phone calls that stretch Katie beyond her means, texturing and layering Coon’s performance.
Elizabeth Olsen is magnetic in a steady turn as the seemingly most perfect sister and her Christina tries to mediate discussions in a respectful, motherly way, but also wonderfully shows the fragility of a woman trying to hold it all together for her family.
Natasha Lyonne, known for the frenetic pace of her characters, is the most subdued, introspective of the three, which is an arresting contrast to performances Lyonne has given in the past but also allows her opportunities to examine a part of her Rachel that is the most self-reflective.
And while Jacobs and Lyonne do take advantage of certain moments that allow her to be more brash, the quiet nature of Rachel is an interesting juxtaposition to round three unique characters that cannot be fully considered on an individual level.
As such, the chemistry between the three actresses has a wealth of depth and flavor that shows both the consideration they’ve given to their individual characters and deepens the complexities of the ways each sister interacts with each other and how that affects the world around them.
Jacobs, for his part, is a confident filmmaker with a clear vision for providing a rich, multifaceted world that feels uniquely lived-in in what could only be several hundred square feet of a small NYC apartment staged with a thoughtfulness usually reserved for stage dramas.
Cinematography shot entirely on film by Sam Levy provides warmth, color, and context to the overall story Jacobs is telling without getting too much in the way and yet there’s still somewhat of a distance that naturally occurs between film and audience that keeps “His Three Daughters” from being a truly exceptional film.
After being shelved for a year following its debut at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, “His Three Daughters” arrived on Netflix this past weekend to moderate fanfare and is unlikely to receive awards consideration, save for some independent awards.
More introspective, thoughtful cinephiles who are in a safe space to sit the world of family turmoil and impending loss may find “His Three Daughters” well worth watching at home.
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