Directed by Emma Seligman, Shiva Baby manages to take an intentionally slow-moving plot and cram so it full of cringe-worthy, anxiety-inducing moments that I had to keep watching to see how it all played out.
Shiva Baby revolves around its protagonist, Danielle (Rachel Sennott), a student paying for college through her relationship with an older man, Max (Danny Defarrari). During the first few minutes of Shiva Baby, Danielle is having spirited sex with Max and is interrupted by a phone call from her mother telling her someone has died and that Danielle must attend the shiva. When Danielle arrives at the shiva, she still hasn’t found out who died—in fact, it’s unclear throughout the film who has actually died, which symbolizes Danielle’s own shaky stability; everything keeps getting more and more confusing.
The representation of a close-knit Jewish community is brilliant in this film. Danielle is constantly surrounded by members of this community, their voices ever rising around her in a claustrophobic symphony, always switching back and forth between shame and praise.
The shiva gets awkward as Danielle’s ex, Maya (Molly Gordon), shows up. Maya represents everything Danielle is not, or feels she’s not—in law school, socially thriving, mentally sound. Danielle’s own drama keeps escalating as she tries to deal with old feelings for Maya and new, much more dysfunctional feelings for Max (who’s also at the shiva), and although it gets frustrating to see her make poor decisions, she’s endearing with her sweet, fierce face covering up some very shaky self-esteem.
I loved this movie. If you’ve ever been in a situation where you had to be nice but really wanted to smash something, then you will love it too. And in the end it reminds us that anything is bearable if we have a loving support system.
Victoria Film Festival
Various times, February 5 to 14
Various prices
victoriafilmfestival.com
Love this honest and poignant review. The cast was brilliant.