His Three Daughters movie review: An intensely engaging chamber drama

His Three Daughters movie review

Film: His Three Daughters (Netflix)
Cast: Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen, Jovan Adepo, Rudy Galvan, Randy Ramos Jr.
Director: Azazel Jacobs
Rating: 3/5
Runtime: 101 min

This is a small chamber film with largely three characters hogging the screen time. It feels more like a theatre play but is effective enough to capture your attention right from start to end.

This is basically a family drama with three sisters, diametrically different individuals, confined to a small space discussing the past and the present in the wake of their father's terminal condition. The script skillfully mines drama and emotion as the sisters converge, converse, criticize, console and comfort each other through the time they are forced to spend with each other as their father lies dying.

The excellent dialogue and performances highlight the differences between the sisters - both in terms of personalities and circumstance. They may start off as irritating and overly verbose in their efforts to get off the heavy load accumulated over years, off their chest but eventually you get to see beyond their flaws and understand where they are coming from. It becomes impossible not to sympathise with each sister as they gripe at each other while navigating their anger and grief at the sense of loss they are beginning to experience.

Katie (Carrie Coon), the eldest, a Brooklyn mother, feels the need to take control. She is constantly discussing plans and is in favor of ensuring a DNR gets signed soon. Rachel (Natasha Lyonne), who has been Dad's caregiver, spends most of her time gambling when she's not getting high. She doesn't plan ahead. Christina (Elizabeth Olsen),the sister from out-of-town, is more interested in talking about her daughter constantly and doing yoga in the living room.Vincent (Jay O. Sanders) is the one on death's door, being cared for by hospice worker Angel (Rudy Galvan). At times she is also seen trying to comfort the three women as they prepare to say goodbye to their dad. Conflict is rampant as the sisters try to negotiate their differences.

Jacobs' script gradually opens out from the established generic cliches to capture the true essence of the three women and understand how each is battling the labels they have been struggling to break away from. As Katie says, "No one will let me be anyone else."

The setting is a confined space and symbolises the box the each of them is struggling to get out off. Heavy on dialogue, drama and emotion, the film makes you think and ponder about human behaviour and how we tend to label and place people in boxes, denying them their individuality.

As the character of each sister begins to take shape the drama between them becomes more and more interesting and nuanced. This film manages to capture the unpredictability that goes with a loved one being on the cusp of death. Jacobs trusts his actresses to deliver the goods and the three manage to put in some of their best work in this film. This film may seem like a simple story of dying and the agony experienced by loved ones but is actually far more complex, shifts shape along the way and becomes a highly perceptive emotional roller coaster encapsulating a trying period while providing valuable insight into how family members conduct themselves when such drastic life altering situations arise.