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Three estranged sisters return home to their elderly father, as he lies on death’s door. Old resentments will rise, new divides will emerge and relationships will threaten to be broken forever. This is the moody 1st trailer for His Three Daughters.
When their aging father comes close to passing away, judgmental Katie (Carrie Coon), peacemaker middle child Christina (Elizabeth Olsen) and snarky Rachel (Natasha Lyonne) all return home to watch over him in his final moments. Estranged since childhood, the three have difficulty hiding their disdain for each other’s lives and their frayed connection soon devolves into chaos.
source: Netflix
But as their father’s time grows near, it’s up to these three sisters to try and mend bonds broken long ago, and find the empathy for each other they thought they had lost. The trailer shows each sister’s slow journey to accepting each other, and ends with the three sharing a laugh together, suggesting hope for the future.
The premise for His Three Daughters naturally lends itself to a comedy of misunderstandings. Big family blowouts and comedy, a duo as old as comedy itself. But director Azrael Jacobs surprisingly goes for a much quieter atmosphere. Characters feel small, nuanced, and underplayed. Big blowups are rare, serving as punctuations to the quiet grief rather than climaxes to conflict.
In a way, the film seeks to emulate real life without masquerading as it. There’s a definite staged feeling to the dynamite lead performances of Coon, Olsen & especially Lyonne, all of whom capture adult female ennui in different forms (judgy wine mom, stoned millennial, quietly neurotic middle child). But nothing feels showy and over-the-top, which somehow increases the emotions in the trailer. They feel so real, it hits your heart in a much more intense way, as if reminding you of your own awkward family memories.
Directed by Azrael Jacobs, His Three Daughters will release theatrically in the US on September 6, 2024. The movie stars Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olsen & Natasha Lyonne.
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