Shiva Baby

Loved this film. I thought it was highly relatable as a gay-jewish man. Lots of family similarities. Each character was perfectly casted and realistic. Rachel Sennott was great, the audience really can empathize with her and feel her anxiety and panic rising with each scene. The way the soundtrack and music correlated with the scenes was perfect. I've been seeing some reviews compare it to a horror film, which is quite accurate, considering a family gathering can be horrific, traumatic, especially for a teenager / young-adult. I also found this film really funny, in a dark, unintentional way. Each character was just so absurd and an over-the-top caricature of what a nagging old Jewish lady could be like. The actress who played her mother was perfect as the over-bearing Jewish mother, with constant interrogation of her personal life, and crude jokes. I felt like the movie could have been a long pilot episode for a TV series. The ending was a bit abrupt, but other than that, it was an enjoyable film.

Shiva Baby is equally funny and stressful. The comedy makes some clever observations whilst the film generally keeps escalating until it hits an inevitable breaking point. With a film this consistently stressful, it clocking in at only 78 minutes really works because any longer could've been too much.

Rachel Sennott is amazing, really funny whilst trying to hide the growing sense of unease as things just get worse and when it does get too much, the release is so emotional. Molly Gordon is great as someone who initially enjoys the chaos but begins to show a more caring side as it goes along.

Emma Seligman's direction really knows how to unnerve. Taking cues from horror movies with some jump scares and enough intense close ups to make the film feel claustrophobic. Ariel Marx's score pings and twangs throughout in a way that stops any sense of comfort from settling in.

Shiva Baby is better than I thought it would be. I'm not going to say I was constantly laughing, far from that, but it definitely has something entertaining about it. Rachel Sennott did a great job playing her character. Watching her lie through her teeth all the time, and that whilst staying very charming (I think she's a real looker to be honest), it had to be done. The story is simple but effective. The funny parts are the older women gossiping in their Jewish way. The cinematography was not bad at all, with some really good shots every now and then. Shiva Baby isn't a long movie, rather too short, but for an indie production it's certainly worth watching.

Set mostly in real time, 'Shiva Baby (2020)' focuses on a young woman whose life seems to spiral out of control when she bumps into her sugar daddy at a shiva. It's basically an exercise in controlled chaos. With its claustrophobic atmosphere, creepy soundtrack and uncomfortably relatable cringe, the picture basically feels like a panic attack on screen. In many ways, it actually tells its tales using tropes of the horror genre. It swaps jump-scares for awkward confrontations, monsters for judgmental relatives and blood and guts for unattainable expectations. It's not scary, as such, but it certainly gets under your skin, eking as much suspense from its central situation as possible. It puts you in the position of its protagonist, bombarded with passive aggressive prying and close calls with the truth. There's almost always an impending sense of doom; devastation seems inevitable. The flick isn't dour, though. It's often quietly funny, its comedy coming purely from its characters and their almost unbearable social situation. There's quite a bit of dramatic irony going on and it works very well. As does the character development in general, which is slight but significant. Every player feels like an actual person, like someone you could (and probably do) actually know, and that's really impressive. Although it arguably peaks quite early and sort of peters out a bit as it approaches its appropriately abrupt ending, the film is a consistently arresting and entertaining experience that alternates between making you laugh and making you cringe. It's interesting, well-written and unique. It's such an impressive feature debut.

We need Emma Seligman to direct a thriller/horror movie...like tomorrow. 😱

This was tense, creepy, claustrophobic. It's not one of those comedies that you laugh a lot, it's more about the absurd of the situation, but this was great.

I wasn't expecting to like this this much and this a fantastic debut for Emma. Great acting by all, but especially Rachel Sennott.