There's no shortage of "dysfunctional family movies and terminal-illness movies. And even the good ones have trouble sidestepping clichés", said Justin Chang on NPR. So "it says something that 'His Three Daughters', which is about a dysfunctional family coping with a terminal illness, doesn't feel like a retread".
A "sharply written" chamber piece, it is set over a few days in an apartment in Manhattan, where three sisters have gathered to say their goodbyes to their dying father Vincent (Jay O. Sanders). The oldest of the daughters is Katie (Carrie Coon), who lives in nearby Brooklyn but hasn't visited Vincent much lately; then there's Rachel (Natasha Lyonne), a stoner who has been acting as his carer; and finally Christina (Elizabeth Olsen), who seems to lead a charmed life miles from New York.
The acting and writing "have such specificity" that you soon feel intimately acquainted with the characters; and the ending is both "optimistic and deeply affecting". This is a film that, "in the shadow of death, says something essential about how we live".
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
An absorbing gem about the "shifting sands within family relationships", "His Three Daughters" has a clever, witty script, and boasts some excellent performances, said Brian Viner in the Daily Mail. Olsen in particular is exquisite, somehow turning "the least interesting role into the most watchable".
I thought Lyonne was terrific, said Tim Robey in The Telegraph. But mainly, alas, because she comes across as a "breath of fresh air" in an otherwise stultifyingly heavy-handed film. With just one poky set, the cast seem "stuck on a stage, doing the modern equivalent of cut-rate Chekhov".
-
September 17 editorial cartoonsCartoons Wednesday’s political cartoons include a diet of outrage, toxic rhetoric, and tank treads on states' rights
-
The 9 restaurants to eat at this very momentThe Week Recommends They’re award-winning. Isn’t that reason enough?
-
The UK’s opioid crisis: why the stats don’t add upThe Explainer A new report has revealed that the UK’s total of opioid-related deaths could be much greater than official figures show
-
10 concert tours to see this fallThe Week Recommends Concert tour season isn't over. Check out these headliners.
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful northThe Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
Giorgio Armani obituary: designer revolutionised the business of fashionIn the Spotlight ‘King Giorgio’ came from humble beginnings to become a titan of the fashion industry and redefine 20th century clothing
-
Video games to curl up with this fall, including Ghost of Yotei and LEGO PartyThe Week Recommends Several highly anticipated video games are coming this fall
-
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – a ‘comfort’ watch for fansThe Week Recommends The final film of the franchise gives viewers a chance to say goodbye
-
The Paper: new show, same 'warmth and goofiness'The Week Recommends This spin-off of the American version of The Office is ‘comfortingly and wearyingly familiar’
-
Rachel Jones: Gated Canyons – ‘riotously colourful’ works from an ‘exhilarating’ painterThe Week Recommends The 34-year-old is the first artist to take over Dulwich Picture Gallery’s main space
-
Born With Teeth: ‘mischievously provocative’ play starring Ncuti GatwaThe Week Recommends ‘Sprightly’ production from Liz Duffy Adams imagines the relationship between Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe
