A Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig-esque Farewell
Three daughters return to their father’s home to spend his final days with him. This premise immediately brings to mind Diane Keaton’s “Hanging Up” (where she also played one of the sisters) with Meg Ryan and Lisa Kudrow. However, from the very first scenes, it becomes clear that we are watching a completely different kind of film – far from Hollywood, more intimate, shrouded in a bittersweet haze, and requiring us to prepare for an inevitable and tragic conclusion. Sam Levy’s attentive camera work (“Frances Ha,” “Lady Bird,” “Mistress America”) evokes the early works of Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig, while the sensitivity of writer-director-editor Azazel Jacobs (“Doll & Em,” “Sorry for Your Loss”) makes us cherish every moment spent in the company of these three sisters.
Natasha Lyonne as Rachel in “His Three Daughters”
Katie (Carrie Coon) is the eldest in every sense. She authoritatively demands order, hounds the phone in search of a doctor who can sign the Do-Not-Resuscitate form, accuses everyone around her of inaction, and contemplates dropping everything and leaving every few hours. The youngest, Christina (Elizabeth Olsen), cries often, but not always for her father – she thinks about her husband David and her young daughter Mirabelle, who have to “manage somehow” in her absence. To calm herself, Christina practices yoga, uses breathing exercises, and occasionally sings. Rachel (Natasha Lyonne) is the sister who never left. While Katie and Christina moved away to build careers and start families, Rachel stayed and became a pillar of support for her aging father. Her job is to buy apples (his favorite, and eventually only, treat), place bets on sports, and smoke with Benji (Jovan Adepo), her only close friend.
Carrie Coon as Katie in “His Three Daughters”
Characters and Performances
The three figures presented by Jacobs quickly develop character and history, gently transforming from understandable cardboard cutouts into three-dimensional and charming heroines, experiencing a whole spectrum of emotions. Immediately after the film’s premiere in Toronto in 2023, critics unanimously hailed the performances of Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen, and Carrie Coon as the best of their careers – and it’s hard to disagree.
The characters rarely leave the main location – a beautiful and spacious apartment that is often bathed in sunlight. The exceptions are Rachel’s trips to the courtyard and the store. Jacobs’ film would likely work well as a theatrical performance – it even begins with a static monologue in which Katie explains to Rachel how they will live now. The introduction sets the tone for the film, and Carrie Coon’s character’s speech captures attention, leading one to think that the film has a remarkably strong script. The next hour and a half confirms these suspicions – not a single artificial line is spoken, and you truly believe everything the characters say and how they say it.
Elizabeth Olsen as Christina in “His Three Daughters”
Family Dynamics and Farewell
And they talk a lot. Christina calls her young daughter to make sure she takes a bath on time and doesn’t feel lonely. Katie argues with her eldest daughter, who has recently entered adolescence, and Rachel goes out to the courtyard to smoke and exchange a few words with the local watchman. Jacobs manages to tell not only about the father and three daughters, but also about what surrounds each of the women – their partners and children, their work responsibilities, their friends and habits. We don’t know what Christina and Katie’s husbands look like, but we imagine them through phone conversations. We don’t hear descriptions of the children’s appearances, but we still turn abstract characters into living images thanks to how and what the sisters talk to them about. Skillfully juggling words, Jacobs creates a detailed portrait of an average large family, but doesn’t descend into banalities, and, on the contrary, successfully adds the particular to the general. When Katie and Rachel unmistakably hint to Christina that she lives in a pink bubble where there is nothing but a successful husband, a charming daughter, and yoga, Elizabeth Olsen’s character only smiles bitterly: “Just because I don’t complain doesn’t mean I don’t have problems.”
“His Three Daughters” is a film about death. Not only about saying goodbye to a father, but also about saying goodbye to one’s own past – after experiencing the loss of parents, we will never be the same. Having recorded the time of death (“Not down to the seconds, of course, but down to the hours and minutes,” the doctor assures), the sisters stare for a long time at the old leather armchair that once served their father faithfully. In it, Dad watched the game, opened a cold beer, dropped sandwich crumbs, peeled apples, and accidentally fell asleep after a busy day. Katie, Rachel, and Christina take turns sitting in the chair to get as close as possible to the cherished figure one last time and finally find the strength to let go.