By Alex Gilston September 30, 2024
If you have a relative that is terminally ill, the grieving process starts before their death; and it’s hard. You can’t help but imagine a world that they don’t inhabit anymore, and all the while they are still physically in the room with you. His Three Daughters, written and directed by Azazel Jacobs, highlights the unmerciful nature of losing a loved one and having time to prepare for it. (Spoiler alert: you never will be)
Synopsis
His Three Daughters centers around Katie (Carrie Coon), Christina (Elisabeth Olsen), and Rachel (Natasha Lyonne). They are sisters who gather at their father’s house during the final days of his life. The women reunite to sort out his affairs and make sure they are together when the time comes. But their frayed relationships are tested as they slowly await, and try to process, the inevitable loss.
Review
A small cast, a single location, lengthy monologues, and piercing character moments come together to make His Three Daughters a triumph in quaint filmmaking. By pulling all of these aspects together, it presents its complex universal themes in an easily connectable way; something a film that feels too busy would struggle to achieve. By making it a chamber piece we are boxed in, in order to observe the plethora of character moments set before us. Every interaction, from the slightest handful-of-word conversations to the biggest blow out arguments, are imbued with intentionality, as the women’s shared grief forces them to confront more than just the death of their father.
The juxtaposition of the quiet reflective moments, and the loud messy ones is an admirably honest representation of what grief is. It expertly captures the intricacies of through its empathetic dialogue and performances. Grief is such a monumental thing but His Three Daughters hovers a microscope over the smaller details. Having to write a eulogy, arguing over who will get ownership of property, if you should sign a do not resuscitate form. Azazel Jacobs understands that, although it might not feel that way, life continues after our loved ones leave us. Its one thing to explore the wider effects of grief and losing a loved one, but another to interweave those small details. For a film to be so matter of fact about it is revelatory.
His Three Daughters biggest strength lies in it’s performances. Carrie Coon, Elisabeth Olsen, and Natasha Lyonne are firing on all cylinders. Considering they are, for the most part, the only actors on screen they do an impeccable job of carrying everything forward. It helps that each character is incredibly well rounded and approaching the situation from very different angles. Lyonne is the standout however, she has the least to say and do, but her journey throughout the film is no less impactful. Her grief is demonstrably less outward than the others, but her performance offers an alternative look into how these things affect us.
It’s one specific scene in the film however that really solidifies His Three Daughters as a tentpole film. Throughout His Three Daughters our only reference to the father’s existence is eerie shots of half closed doors, and the heart monitor beep of a life support machine. But in a scene close to the end the daughters move him from his room and he galavants around the house. We are then treated to possibly one of the most beautifully written monologues of the year. The father waxes lyrical about love and life and living in New York City as the three daughters listen on, entranced. Its a purely heartbreaking moment, but it offers up a beacon of light on the dark chasm of grief. Despite the revelation once the monologue concludes, its still a beguiling moment giving the daughters a sense of closure.
We all either know, or will know, the pain the three protagonists feel throughout. His Three Daughters authentically presents the real life challenges of going through the most horrible moment in your life. Stripped back, quiet, loud, and reflective all at once all boiling down into a piece of film with stellar performances and insightful dialogue. But His Three Daughters doesn’t just provide a well made play-by-play of the unimaginable, it also provides hope. Nothing will be okay until it is once again, because of the people around you.
Star Rating
His Three Daughters is streaming now on Netflix
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