[yasr_overall_rating]
Krisha returns for Thanksgiving dinner after ten years away from her family, but past demons threaten to ruin the festivities.
Every family has their secrets – the messes or debacles that would embarrass the family if outsiders were somehow to become aware of them. Most of us hope that those things get swept under the rug. After all, everyone plays the same game: we all pretend our families are “normal,” even when we know that they really are not. In “Krisha,” director Trey Edward Shults doesn’t just ignore that unspoken cultural directive, he turns it on its head and forces the viewer to confront the uncomfortable or painful truths that the family dynamic can bring.
What makes “Krisha” so extraordinary is that it is based on a deeply painful family gathering experienced by director Shults, starring the family members who were present for it. The titular character is played by Shults’ aunt Krisha Fairchild, who is performing as a fictionalized version of herself based on her real-life late niece, who passed away from a drug overdose not long after the family event went terribly wrong. Did I mention that it is also the twenty-six-year-old Shults’ directorial debut? Needless to say, the young auteur would seem to have a bright future.
“Krisha” forces the viewer to see everything through the protagonist’s eyes as she attends Thanksgiving dinner at her sister’s house after an extended absence from her family. The film opens with an shot that lingers uncomfortably long on Krisha’s face, followed by a painfully awkward long take in which she greets each member of her extended family with a palatable unease in the air. In another context, describing the first minutes of a film as “uncomfortable” or “painfully awkward,” might indicate that the film was poorly made or directed. Here, it is quite the opposite. Krisha’s tangible feeling of unexplainable dread is bolstered by the obvious discomfort and awkwardness experienced by the family, and it makes the film more powerful. There were many instances in the film, as unease quickly escalated into utter disaster, where I was almost afraid to continue my viewing of it. And yet, I found that I had come to view Krisha and her clan as a particularly nasty car wreck: I didn’t want to stare, but I was unable to look away.
Shults’ decision to have his family portray themselves is an utterly insane, audacious gamble that pays off splendidly. The film’s rapid, ever-intensifying pace never allows one family member (other than Krisha, through whom we experience the events of the film) to dominate the narrative. This not only provides for a dialogue-driven drama that oftentimes feels like a horror film, but also minimizes any flaws that an ensemble cast of green actors might have.
I hesitate to provide many plot details. “Krisha” is best viewed without any foreknowledge of plot developments, so that the maximum level of immersion can be achieved. But be rest assured, this film is absolutely worth an uninterrupted viewing. As tragic as it can be, “Krisha” touches on issues affecting many American families: addiction, antisocial behavior, and widening disparity between socioeconomic classes. This film uses one man’s family to tell the story of everyone else’s.
Now playing at the Angelika Film Center in Dallas
