By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Azazel Jacobs
Starring: Carrie Coon | Elizabeth Olsen | Jay O. Sanders | Jovan Adepo | Natsha Lyonne
Year: 2023
Running time: 101
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28491891/reference/
Diane says: “HIS THREE DAUGHTERS is a study in the distance between who we want to be and how we appear to others.
“I was drawn to this at TIFF because I’m one of three daughters who, like the three in this film, cared for our father while he was in hospice. (But we like each other more.)
“Carrie Coon and Elizabeth Olsen play the dying dad’s biological daughters, and Natasha Lyonne is their rough-edged step-sister. The characters’ spines (dramatically speaking) clash, not only because of grief, but because of their history together. The well-cast actors make a great ensemble.
“With its formal speech, monologues, and restrained reactions, DAUGHTERS has a Chekhovian vibe for most of its runtime. And, due to the constraints of the NYC apartment setting, one could imagine it taking place on a stage. Azazel Jacobs is the director—I remember enjoying his 2008 MOMMA’S MAN (thanks, Chris, for connecting the dots for me), which starred Jacobs’ real-life parents.
“Although I disliked the climactic scene for its break in realism, this one grew on me more for days after the festival. 4 cats.
“(Seen at Toronto IFF 2023)”