After watching the film I could tell it would not get much love on IMDb, but I personally liked it. The screenplay is very good. What I liked about it were the dynamics of the family relationships. The acting was really superb by all of the actors. It seemed like the most realistic Thanksgiving film I have ever seen. Not the idealized Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving we normally see.
The film did feel a little dark and creepy, but this isn't a horror film. It's as IMDb describes it, a family drama. So I think many people will watch it expecting horror and be turned off by it. I did love the attention to details. The old deteriorating and depressing tenement building. The banging pipes from a largely empty apartment that amplifies the sounds caused by water bubbles in the plumbing were really on point. The loud footsteps. The first couple of days in a new apartment in a large city can be frightening especially when you don't have all of your lighting in place and you are left with large empty spaces with dark shadows with strange sounds.
I am giving this film an 8 because I felt the dialog was very organic and realistic. I felt like someone inside this apartment witnessing this Thanksgiving reunion and listening to these people. It's is bleak and depressing but it was good. Another good job from A24.
