If you ever wish to be young and just starting adult life, Shiva Baby will snap you right out of such thinking. A cringe comedy that takes place during an afternoon at a Jewish memorial service, the film is told from the point of view of Danielle (Rachel Sennott), an almost-college grad who has no idea what she’s going to do with her life. And while she’s prepared to endure her parents’ (Polly Draper and Fred Melamed) fussing and recite a pre-arranged story about promising job interviews that don’t really exist to their extended family, she isn’t prepared for both her law school-bound ex-girlfriend, Maya (Molly Gordon), and her sugar daddy, Max (Danny Deferrari), to show up.
In her feature debut, writer-director Emma Seligman has crafted a film that’s often painful to watch but also relatable. While the story is small and insular, it’s emotionally observant of the small slights and sins that cause Danielle’s armor to start to crack. Danielle’s parents are well-meaning and supportive but they still don’t really understand their daughter’s bisexuality, vegetarianism or self-created college major, and their confusion comes out in the form of questions and suggestions that seem like criticism to Danielle.
Meanwhile, Danielle feels overshadowed by Maya’s accomplishments, so she rebuffs Maya’s attempts to reconnect with her. At the same time, Danielle is undone by the revelation that Max, the one area of her existence she thought she had control over, has a full life outside of her that includes a baby and a beautiful entrepreneur wife (Dianna Agron), who’s likely the one who’s unknowingly paying for Danielle’s services. Danielle circulates and recirculates throughout the small house, running into the same people, all of whom offer a running commentary on her job prospects, her weight and who she’s dating, and as the afternoon wears on, the pressure only continues to build.
Danielle is at once grating and sympathetic. On the one hand, her immaturity and uncertainty sometimes cause her to lash out or become unnecessarily mean. But on the other, as her worlds collide and the carefully crafted identities she’s created for different parts of her life crumble, her confusion and helplessness are laid bare. The other characters are equally complex, full of contradictions and opinions that are often both harsh and understandable at the same time.
While Shiva Baby has witty moments, in many ways it feels more like a horror movie than a comedy. The walls seem to constantly be closing in on Danielle as yet another friend or relative comes after her with their endless questions and unfiltered judgments. More than once Danielle attempts to flee only to be pulled back in. This repetition gets a bit tedious over the course of the film’s brief 77 minutes. Given the movie’s story is practically told in real-time, there’s little room for character growth, so the film is often left wallowing in its own anxiety, and seeing the increasingly frazzled Danielle get knocked down over and over feels at once realistic and punishing.
However, it speaks to Seligman’s talents as a filmmaker that she so thoroughly manages to lock us into Danielle’s perspective that we react just as viscerally to her experiences as she often does, and to Sennott’s talents as an actor that we still root for Danielle no matter how insufferable she’s being. Although Shiva Baby is a simple story, it’s emotionally full, equal parts infuriating, touching, funny and sad — and always disconcertingly uncomfortable. Different people are likely to take different things away from Shiva Baby, but almost everyone should find some part of the movie recognizable.
Written and Directed by Emma Seligman and starring Rachel Sennott, Molly Gordon, Dianna Agron, Danny Deferrari, Polly Draper and Fred Melamed, Shiva Baby will be released in select theaters and on VOD on Friday, April 2.
About The Author