His Three Daughters2024

I will say—with as much clarity as I can muster through the tears once again blurring my vision—that the final 15 minutes or so of His Three Daughters are what lifts the movie out of “impressively fine-tuned family drama starring three excellent actresses” into the stratosphere of “transcendent work of art whose insights into the meaning of human impermanence you may want to change your life to be worthy of.

I happened upon this film with no preconceived expectation. Within the first 10 minutes I was invested in itand the three nuanced performances of the actors portraying three very different, yet forced together sisters. Set in the apartment of a father who is dying, the minimal production has the feel of a stage play - each sister leading a scene and taking us into their own private battles as they await the inevitable together. The subject matter is not new, yet the true-to-life tension, emotion and awkward silences between the characters was palpable. There is overwhelming discomfort throughout the film that can’t seem to be resolved, putting the viewer in a similar state. I was frustrated, yet transfixed, almost hoping for the end to come. And then, boom - a scene so surprising and heartbreakingly poignant, that I felt a sudden calm, joy and sadness wash over me. His three sisters is anchored in the brilliant performances, from actors bringing their very powerful best, to material that could have landed flatly in the wrong hands, notwithstanding the aforementioned scene. These are award worthy performances with direction that keeps the pace tentative, yet even - like the beat of a heart monitor as you wonder when it will stop.

There’s an acting master class to savor, as one might expect from a cast that includes Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olsen and Natasha Lyonne, each of them in career-best form.