His Three Daughters (released on September 6, 2024) is a dramatic comedy directed by Azazel Jacobs, starring Carrie Coon (Katie), Elizabeth Olsen (Christina), and Natasha Lyonne (Rachel). The film focuses on three nearly estranged sisters who reunite in Rachel’s New York City apartment to care for their terminally ill father. Tensions rise as the sisters confront familial issues while living in close quarters. The film addresses difficult family dynamics head on, creating powerful messages that are worth watching.
Jacobs does a wonderful job of establishing each character in the first five minutes, and since the cast is minimal, each character has great developmental growth that the audience gets the privilege of viewing. The film is established in Rachel’s apartment, where the majority of the movie will take place. The audience starts as a fly on the wall, observing each sister make their case in an argument about Rachel’s lack of involvement in caring for their father. Each sister is quickly characterized in this initial scene; Katie, the eldest, is a practical, organized, and rational thinker, who is often frustrated with Rachel, the youngest, a free spirit who dislikes being confined by her sisters’ presence. Christina, the middle child, is the peacekeeper of the family. She often meditates arguments between Katie and Rachel, and frequently sings to her father as a form of care.
The two-setting format—Rachel’s apartment and a local park bench—creates an intimate atmosphere. By the end, the audience knows the layout of Rachel’s apartment like the back of their hand. The pace of the film is a refreshing change from trending fast paced television with ambitious characters, such as award-winning The Bear.
Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olsen, and Natasha Lyonne deliver astoundingly vulnerable performances. The film mainly relies on dialogue and emotional portrayal for characterization, which the actresses perform beautifully, completely distracting the audience from the fact this was filmed in one place. The screenplay is original, but the film feels so much like a play that my initial understanding was that it was an adaptation.
Each sister processes the grief of their sick father quite differently—Katie obsessively cooks, Christina excessively practices meditation and yoga, and Rachel smokes copious amounts of weed. The sisters learn how to live with their differences throughout the film; additionally, the audience doesn’t lay eyes on their father until the last moments, emphasizing the bond between the sisters.
Overall, the themes of grief, feminism, and familial bonds had me in tears. But the sisters’ quick wit and dark humor also had me laughing out loud. Jacobs elegantly films this sensitive story, and I would recommend it to anyone. You can easily find yourself in any of the sisters, making the experience a highly enjoyable watch. His Three Daughters is now in theaters and streaming on Netflix.
Indresh Chandel 