Krisha

Well done effort and movie for small independent film. I saw this several months ago. Krisha has demons and a destructive past and has wreaked havoc on her family's emotional reserves for years. Krisha shows up to a holiday dinner expecting all to be well but the family has resentments and pain and cannot forget and forgive so easily. This film can be uncomfortable. This family is on the edge. The tension is palpable.

Overall great film that depicts the addict/emotionally needy and dysfunctional family well.

Greetings again from the darkness. If we need a poster child for independent film, perhaps this little gem from writer/director Trey Edward Shults should be the leading candidate. The film is daring and raw and proves that even a familiar theme can be interesting if the creative forces are allowed to do what they do best. And on top of that … it was filmed in 9 days with no "stars" and almost no money.

The extended opening shot is a close up of only a woman's face. Her eyes are expressive and her lip begins to quiver. Her look could be described as unnerved, and with the ominous music playing, our mind leads us to believe we are headed towards a horror film. Oh, how right … and wrong … that initial impression proves to be.

That woman is Krisha (played by Krisha Fairchild), a sixty-something year old who is joining her family for Thanksgiving dinner – after a 10 year absence. Of course, there are no shortage of family holiday dinner disaster movies, but most of the time they are either slapstick comedy or so stagey that the frustration never strikes a chord. Not so with this one.

Tension is palpable in every scene. It's as if everyone is waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. Krisha is a trainwreck as a mother, sister and person. She is an alcoholic and drug addict, though she proclaims herself healed. It's pretty obvious to everyone (except herself) that her best intentions are not firmly planted in reality … and the inevitable is only a matter of time. Old wounds are re-opened (though they were probably never closed), and a simple conversation on the patio or checking the timer for the baking turkey become near catastrophes.

Mr. Shults has economically and effectively cast many of his own family members, and filmed in his mother's home outside of Houston. Krisha is his real life Aunt, and Robyn (who plays Krisha's emotionally devastated sister) is the director's mother. This is a story that works because of the realness of each moment. It feels like family members unloading on each other rather than two actors reciting lines. Krisha's swig of wine in the bathroom provides a moment of relief for both her and the viewer. Having been called "heartbreak incarnate" and an "abandoneer" … we even sympathize with her instinct to retreat to the bottle, though it's with dread and misery.

Director Shults displays promise as a director who can capture a personal moment, no matter how awkward or painful. Krisha Fairchild has a Gena Rowlands on screen presence (very high praise) that delivers a touch of grounded realism to her words and actions. As a lover of independent films, here's hoping we see more from them both in the very near future.

Don't let the plot synopsis fool you. First-time writer-director Trey Edward Shults has managed to craft a unique and absorbing family drama from a premise which appears mundane and conventional on the surface.

Krisha Fairchild is magnificent in the lead role, and the mostly non-actor cast add a heightened sense of honesty and realism to the drama, which can make for engrossing, if at times uncomfortable viewing.

However, what makes Krisha truly stand out is the cinematography and score. With an opening shot lasting about six minutes, it's clear from the start that this isn't your run-of-the-mill family drama. The camera is used in ways that can sometimes call attention to itself, but is always in service of the story. The rattling score permeates the film with a feeling of dread and anxiety which, with the camera-work, really makes us feel what the title character is feeling.

While Krisha is not a perfect film (although the opening 20-30 minutes come close), it manages to feel unique and original in ways I didn't think would be possible in 2016. This is the most pleasant surprise of the year, and I can't wait to see what Shults does next.

Like "La Cienaga", this movie has a veracity and intimacy that will freak out most self- appointed film critics (and I'm not one). If you can't handle domestic pain, tension, and heartbreak then don't watch it. As a big fan of Dostoyevsky I found it riveting and powerful. After viewing I immediately sought out the back story and wasn't surprised to learn the cast/family are actual family members. I don't think a filmmaker could achieve what Shults does with an all-actor cast. It matters not a whit to me that he used family members or that you can foresee an inevitable train wreck in the making toward the end of Act 2. A great film, and the audio effects are superb, especially in the kitchen scene and the use of a Nina Simone track to score Krisha's high flying cookoff.

The first shot of "Krisha" is a slow zoom into the titular characters face, with ominous, rising music in the background. The preceding scenes (and the fantastic introductory long take) show that Krisha is coming home to family that she hasn't seen in a while on Thanksgiving day, and has good intentions for her visit. But this mood of uncertainty established in the opening shot rises throughout the movie. Even though Krisha is simply participating in usual small talk towards the beginning of the film, the unpredictable soundtrack, frantic movement of the camera, and the performances of the characters suggest Krisha isn't stable.

The film is very subtle and deliberate in what it reveals to us about this family and Krisha's past. The film starts after much has already happened with her character, and many things are revealed about her throughout the film, but most are just suggested. She has problems in her past that have affected her whole family, and her sudden visit to them intends to make up for those problems.

The camera and aspect ratios tell us a lot about the state of Krisha's character. At first the camera movements are frantic but fluid, showing Krisha is in control, but could lose it at any moment. Then the camera is shaky and the aspect ratio narrows, with two black bars at the top and bottom, showing Krisha is on the verge of breaking, relapsing into alcoholism. Then the aspect ratio boxes her in and the editing and camera movements are spastic, showing her isolation and inability to escape it.

While the cinematography tells a lot about Krisha, the actress portraying her, Krisha Fairchild, really tells the most. Her repressed suffering is evident with this actress. This is the type of film where all of the actors make each scene feel natural and incredibly realistic. They seem like real people in a family we could know, and that's part of what makes the film so brutal.

Krisha is a devastating, deeply emotional character study and one of the best films of 2016.