Direction: Stephen Karam
Country: USA
Lebanese-American playwright and first-time director Stephen Karam adapts his own one-act Broadway play (a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award winner) to the screen, relying on a fine ensemble cast to compose a family scenario with a fine line to walk between multifaceted wit and depressive comfort.
An old apartment in lower Manhattan is the place where The Blakes will celebrate Thanksgiving. Erik (Richard Jenkins) has to keep an eye on his Alzheimer-stricken mother (June Squibb) but doesn’t waste a chance to make lugubrious speeches and talk about eerie dreams; his wife, Deirdre (Jayne Houdyshell), casually complains about her 40-year stint as an office manager; their daughter, Aimee (Amy Schumer), is trying to cope with the end of a relationship, which is aggravating her health problems; on the contrary, their other daughter, Bridgid (Beanie Feldstein), is delighted with this haunted apartment in need of repairs, where she’s about to move in with her laid-back boyfriend, Richard (Steven Yeun).
A strange energy is felt in the house, and tensions start to emerge slowly, exposing fragilities and secrets among the members of the family. Filled with signs that everything could go wrong any minute, the film is actually never jaw-dropping and none of its characters is unique or memorable. But I was pleased with the metaphoric finale and the paranoia-induced state to where the film takes us. It’s an indescribably human drama that probes some beyond-human atmosphere.
Admittedly, by making the camera an observer (lurking in corridors, corners and through door frames) we get a perspective that often comes out of horror movies. The narrative advances with an equal share of slightly ominous phantasmagoria and natural conversation. Most of it rings true, especially during those ripe moments when people relax and reveal themselves.
Hence, even not packing a gut-punch, the film tickles then pinches, advancing confidently toward a satisfying conclusion.
