The things that bring family together, when simply being related isn’t enough of a reason to do so—this is the running theme of writer/director Azarel Jacobs’ (Terri, The Lovers, French Exit) latest work, His Three Daughters. The film is an exceptionally written and acted piece, starring three of the most celebrated and intriguing actors working today: Carrie Coon as eldest Katie, Elizabeth Olsen as Christina, and Natasha Lyonne as Rachel. The three somewhat estranged sisters come together in the New York apartment where their dying father lives with Rachel, who is actually a half sister to the other women, Katie who lives in another part of New York with her husband and rebellious teen daughter, and Christina, who has fled with her husband and young daughter to the west coast. They are there to take turns looking over their father, and in the process make clumsy attempts to mend whatever remains of their relationships with one another in the process.
Like any great chamber piece, the process is messy, painful, sometimes ugly, but ultimately quite moving, watching these vastly different women try to analyze their own lives, their place in this family, and their feelings about their father and each other. Being the oldest, Katie tries to take control, losing herself in the detail-oriented work of preparing for her father’s death—she wants to make sure his DNR wishes are respected; she arranges for a pair of nurses to look after their dad to give the sisters breaks during the day; and she judges the state of the apartment and chastises Rachel for the lack of food in the fridge. It doesn’t help that Rachel is apparently a professional sports gambler and does little more than watch various sporting events in her room, sometimes with her best friend/boyfriend (it’s hard to tell) Benji (Jovan Adepo), who is the only one willing to stand up for her against Katie when even she won’t do it herself.
Christina comes across as the eternal optimist who very much misses her family back home. Katie believes the two of them (both with the same parents; their mother died of cancer when they were fairly young) are a united front in all things, until Christina lets it be known that she isn’t a fan of Katie’s bullying ways. Christina very much wants to be closer to Rachel, because the two basically grew up together when their father remarried Rachel’s mother. And then there’s the dad, Vincent (Jay. O. Sanders), who isn't seen until the end of the film when he emerges from the room for one last visit to his favorite chair in the living room where he and Rachel would watch sports together. But even the authenticity of that sequence is suspect, which doesn’t mean it isn’t quite powerful and something the sisters can gather strength from.
There are conversations about Rachel staying on in the apartment after Vincent dies, since her name is on the lease; there are arguments about Rachel smoking weed in the bathroom; and there are other petty fights about all manner of things. But those all seems like stand-ins for bigger, more significant discussions that this broken family has been putting off for too long. All three of the leads are fantastic, but Lyonne really stands out here because she dials back her usually larger-than-life persona; Rachel is the one who has been taking care of their father during the bulk of his illness, and as soon as the other two arrive, she practically refuses to go back into his room because she can’t stand to see him like that. She tries hard to avoid confrontation and be accommodating to her sisters who have invaded her home, but they make that impossible for her.
Olsen might do the most layered work of her career as the mostly perky Christina, who is clearly hiding a darker and more unsatisfied part of herself. She seems to like the family life she has back home because she knows her role and doesn’t have to think too much or make difficult decisions like she does in this apartment. It’s a somewhat sad existence but it gives her a type of comfort.
Except for a few scenes set in the courtyard right outside their apartment building, the entirety of His Three Daughters takes place in the various rooms of this unit, making the film feel like a stage play or at least giving the entire production a claustrophobic feel that makes these confrontations seem inevitable, a product of the environment, especially when one room houses a dying man and we never get to see into it.
For all the bitterness in the air, there’s never really any doubt that these smart, compassionate women will find a way to find common ground and the means to make peace. The real question is one we’ll never know the answer to: what happens next? When we leave the sisters, they’re in a good place, but will they stay that way? The mark of any good film or finely drawn character is whether we wonder what happens to them when the cameras turn off and the picture fades. I still think about this family from time to time, both individually and as a group. You want them to stay close, but history suggests they might not. It’s because the impact of getting to know these women still lingers that the film is something special and worth seeking out.
The film is now screening in select theaters and will begin streaming on Netflix on Sept. 20.
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