Version 1.0 of what could be a better family drama.
At least, and at most, His Three Daughters showcases engaging performances from its three typically magnetic leads, Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne, and Elizabeth Olsen. Writer-director-editor Azazel Jacobs‘ script is filled with honest, if not especially insightful, observations about the mundane mechanics and strained dynamics when estranged siblings gather around a dying parent. However, Jacobs’ flat direction is done no favours by Sam Levy‘s bafflingly unflattering cinematography (and those eyelines – wowza). There are ways to sensitively ground family drama without it looking and feeling like an audition tape, and nothing in His Three Daughters elevates it from a rudimentarily-captured acting workshop to anything resembling essential viewing. There’s a palpable disconnect between the level of the talent in front of the camera, and the quality of the craft behind it. Let’s see this same cast in version 2.0, or even version 3.0, of this film, please.
Further Viewing
I felt a similar frustration watching Mass (2021) a couple of years prior. Chamber play about grief, excellent cast, distracting film-making choices: