Review - His Three Daughters
Directed by: Azazel Jacobs
Written by: Azazel Jacobs
Starring: Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olzen, Natasha Lyonne, Jovan Adepo
Running Time: 113 minutes
Rating: 4/5
No one ever can prepare for how to deal with the impending loss of a parent. Everyone processes their emotions and grieves differently. When personalities clash, egos get in the way, and the communication breaks down, no one is ever on the same page.
In His Three Daughters, the egos at play are seen through the personalities of Katie (Carrie Coon), Rachel (Natasha Lyonne), and Christina (Elizabeth Olsen), as the three of them, all semi-estranged from each other, come together when their father’s health declines, knowing that his final days are upon them. Kaite and Christina are sisters from a first marriage, with the former more tense and mature, and the latter anxious and understanding, while Rachel is from a second marriage, burnt out and not emotionally or financially in the same position as her stepsisters. Though Rachel has been the one living and taking care of their father for the past year, Katie constantly butts heads with her about her lifestyle and future while Christina tries to keep the peace between all three of them.
Growing up in a house with three older sisters, the moment I read the synopsis, let alone the title of His Three Daughters, I knew I was immediately hooked. It’s not just that I’m a sucker for family melodramas, I’d rather not see myself as a glutton for punishment with that subgenre, but there’s something particularly unique about sibling relationships in films that hits a lot more emotionally. The independent egos and differing personalities. The things left unsaid to one another. Context that doesn’t get addressed until it’s too late to reconcile. My upbringing gave me an optimistic, yet naïve, worldview that family and siblings always get along, but deep inside, I knew that it wasn’t true. But as the years have passed, allowing the ability to connect with my siblings on a different level, of course watching His Three Daughters would deeply resonate with me.
His Three Daughters hinges on the chemistry between Coon, Olsen, and Lyonne. If the audience doesn’t buy them as siblings with a deeply disconnected past with each other, it falls apart. Dramatically, Jacob Azazel’s chamber drama does have a script that on the surface, reads like a play; characters with cliched personalities that one would expect with this film’s subject matter. It’s Azazel’s direction however, beyond the stellar performances, between its choice of setting, lingering on moments with emotional intensity, and effective dramatic sound design that shouldn’t go unnoticed, that by the time the film reaches its emotional climax, His Three Daughters sold me hook, line, and sinker.
With one of the most emotionally affecting monologues and endings I’ve seen at TIFF, His Three Daughters is truly the most underrated world premiere at this year’s festival. It’s a gut punch of a sequence that left no dry eye in the house. Coon, Olsen, and Lyonne should all be considered for Oscar buzz for all their respective performances, but as of this review, no one has picked up the film for distribution. Someone should change that.
