20s Movie Review - His Three Daughters

Director: Azazel Jacobs
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 101 minutes
Year: 2023
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Natasha Lyonne, Carrie Coon

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2025 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 14: A FILM WITH ELIZABETH OLSEN
 
Description: This tense, touching and funny portrait of family dynamics follows three estranged sisters as they converge in a New York apartment to care for their ailing father and try to mend their own broken relationship with one another.

Review: First things first: why is no one talking about this movie? Because it’s amazing. A true hidden gem, on Netflix, released in 2023.

In the intimate, domestic drama “His Three Daughters’, in impending goodbye forces three sister to look each other in the eye again after a long time. Separated by their career choices, family lives and clashing personalities, the women face a difficult task: caring for their dying father in unison, and ultimately grieving in unison. The austere setting does half the job, but it is the three leading actresses who take the film to the next level.

When the stilted Katie begins an argument in the pithy opening scene about the care status of her ailing father, it takes a moment before we see who she is talking to. The camera catches her in a stately shot and refuses to bring the rest of the room into view; the healthcare professional who patiently listens to her is given his own speaking frame only moments later.

After the first few cuts, the camera takes some distance and the women poarticipate in the conversation also come into view together. Of the three sisters in the room, only Rachel was already living in the apartment where their father is spending his final days. Katie and younger sister Christina traveled to the place to help out.

The separate shots of the three women are apt for the attentive manner in which director Azazel Jacobs proceeds in “His Three Daughters”. The film shows the relationship between family members in a situations of transience.

The conversations between Katie, Rachel and Christina quickly expose how different the characters of these women are, and it is not surprising that the first cracks in their rapport quickly follow. Whereas Katie prizes responsibility and labels, Rachel lives a wasted life; she smokes at least foir joints a day, bets on several sports games at once and is comfortable leaving her dishes out all day. The sensitive Christina stands literally and figuratively between her two sisters.

For over an hour Katie, Christina and Rachel bicker and grieve over a man who is carefully kept of screen for most of the film’s runtime. Focusing on the daughters, their emotions, they way each of them deals with the situation and the grieve. And how they deal with each other. It’s a character study, of the individual women, but also about their relationship as sisters.

It is a delight to see these three women in their sister roles. Elizabeth Olsen, Carrie Coon and Natasha Lyonne are all fantastic in their roles. With only an apartment as the décor and a fairly simple story, these three actresses leave a big impression and lift the film to a high level. And I think everyone should see this film.

Rating: 4,5/ 5