His Three Daughters
In roles written especially for them, three fine actresses attempt to bring a stilted scenario to life.
Sister act: Carrie Coon (with Natasha Lyonne in the background)
Image courtesy of Netflix.
His three daughters have gathered to say goodbye as he “transcends” in a room tucked at the back of a New York apartment. If the title and theme suggest a whiff of Shakespeare or Chekhov, the mood is more Sam Shepard or some other modern American dramatist. As the film opens, Carrie Coon talks directly to camera in a monologue, giving us the bullet points we need until the ball is passed to Elizabeth Olsen to deliver her monologue. They are Katie and Christina, and have moved into the home of their dying father who has been sharing his last few years with his other daughter, Rachel (Natasha Lyonne). The last-named spends most of the time locked away in her bedroom smoking weed and juggling the demands of her mobile phone and TV screen. Katie (Coon) immediately steps into the role of mother hen, making last minute arrangements, sorting out the DNR and making sure everybody has enough to eat (she found only rotting apples in the fridge). Christina stands by, or practices yoga, spreading balm on troubled waters.
All the while, the siblings’ father remains an unseen presence, bar for the beeps of his life support monitor, while Rachel’s boyfriend (Jovan Adepo) pops in to share some weed in the back room. Quite where Katie and Christine sleep is not clear, as Azazel Jacobs’ film seems little interested in a sense of place, reinforcing the feeling of a theatre piece played out for the camera. Good as Coon, Olsen and Lyonne are, they still feel like they are reciting dialogue rather than making it up on the spot, while seeming to represent different aspects of womanhood. They actually make for unbearable company, Katie’s passive aggressive authority just as grating as Rachel’s self-seeking arrested development. Should we care, we might just wait with bated breath to witness Christine’s foibles dusted off and spilled out of her particular closet (why is she so eager to please?). This is schematic drama at its most mannered and it takes all the talent of Carrie Coon to steady the helm of this particular ship. With Rachel constantly high, Katie takes to the bottle, while Christina reaches out to her three-year-old daughter on the phone, like her only lifeline to sanity…
His Three Daughters is very much its own thing, stylistically flat and visually drab, but if one is patient enough to wait for some sort of pay-off, you could do much worse than linger in the company of three such wonderful actresses.
JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
Cast: Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen, Rudy Galvan, Jose Febus, Jay O. Sanders, Jovan Adepo.
Dir Azazel Jacobs, Pro Azazel Jacobs, Alex Orlovsky, Duncan Montgomery, Matt Aselton, Marc Marrie, Mal Ward, Lia Buman, Tim Headington and Jack Selby, Ex Pro Peter Friedland, Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olsen, Natasha Lyonne and Maya Rudolph, Screenplay Azazel Jacobs, Ph Sam Levy, Pro Des Kendall Anderson, Ed Azazel Jacobs, Music Rodrigo Amarante, Costumes Diaz Jacobs, Sound Gene Park.
High Frequency Entertainment/Arts & Sciences/Tango/Animal Pictures/Talkies Inc./Case Study Films-Netflix.
104 mins. USA. 2024. UK and US Rel: 20 September 2024. Cert. 15.
