It’s always sad to lose a parent. But what they don’t tell you is how to deal with the responsibility of that loss. His Three Daughters dives right into that horrible time, and how strained family dynamics get even more tested as the stress mounts closer to mom or dad’s passing. So if you’re young, start mentally preparing yourself for this as you become an adult, yay…?
Dad Vincent (Jay O. Sanders) is in his final days, forced into bedrest in his New York apartment where he lives with his middle daughter Rachel (Natasha Lyonne). Upon hearing this prognosis from Vincent’s doctors, Rachel relays the information to her older sister Katie (Carrie Coon) and younger sister Christina (Elizabeth Olsen). The other two sister promptly fly out to be with their dad during these final days, to be there when it happens and also handle any end of life activities that still need to be resolved.
I have just gone through a situation like this in my family, with my grandmother. His Three Daughters so closely mimics what I saw right until my grandmothers death that I know poor writer/director Azazel Jacobs has probably just gone through this himself. The side game you start playing watching the movie is which of the daughters you think you would be. Katie dives right into problem solving, making sure each specific task gets done, and nagging anyone who isn’t pulling their share of the work. Rachel is too grief stricken to help much, and chooses to distract herself through drugs and gambling, the oil to Katie’s water. And Christina is stuck in the middle, playing the mediator to try to put on a happy face in this dark time. Jacob’s insightful script highlights how no one way is the right one, and eventually all 3 women have to leave their little grieving in isolation and deal with the death of their dad together. That catharsis comes with natural conflicts as the women push out of their comfort zone, but eventually leads to at least a good enough place where they can learn and grow in their relationships with one another.
I hope Natasha Lyonne, Carrie Coon, and Elizabeth Olsen take His Three Daughters to Broadway, where it would be a bonafide hit. They’re all excellent together, crafting 3 unique fascinating characters. I probably responded to Carrie Coon’s the most: a woman equally pissed she’s carrying the workload alone and pissed that societal failures force her into this role which she hates, sniping at anyone who dare question her commitment, but also secretly wishing to connect with her estranged family. Natasha Lyonne is giving close to career best stuff here, internally suffering as Rachel and slowly finding a backbone and her voice to stand up to her sister’s more powerful personalities. And Elizabeth Olsen harkens us back to Martha Marcy May Marlene times, giving us a relatively well-adjusted person who gets frustrated trying to get her family to emotionally connect with her so she doesn’t have to suffer alone quietly. The trio is magnetic reading Jacobs’s amazing script, using it to find specificity, nuance, and character arcs over the course of the 100 minute runtime.
I have little bits of each of the women in His Three Daughters. I would like to think I’m more Carrie Coon, but I’m probably somewhere closer to Elizabeth Olsen, off on my own playing peace maker, actively listening and being a supporting player you can rely on. So for all the kids out there of parents nearing their deaths, maybe start the convos early, including watching His Three Daughters so you can know what might happen to you when the time comes.