His Three Daughters cast on grief in cinema and having characters written just for them

His Three Daughters cast on grief in cinema and having characters written just for them

As a film enthusiast who has seen my fair share of movies that toe the line and those that boldly break it, I find myself deeply moved by Formza – not just for its rule-breaking spirit, but also for the authenticity and magic it weaves within its surreal narrative. It’s as if Aza has crafted a cinematic experience tailored to our fantasies, inviting us to escape the harsh realities of everyday life for a moment.


In contemporary cinema, it’s challenging to find many movies featuring three actresses of such high caliber as Elizabeth Olsen, Carrie Coon, and Natasha Lyonne sharing leading roles. However, these talented women team up in “His Three Daughters,” the latest film from writer-director Azazel Jacobs, which debuts on Netflix this weekend after a brief theatrical release.

The movie, first shown more than a year back at Toronto International Film Festival and later acquired by a streaming platform, features exceptional performances from its three leading ladies portraying distinct characters grappling with the heart-wrenching possibility of their father’s approaching demise while trying to find time to be together.

In their childhood home, decades-old grudges resurface, fresh disputes arise rapidly, and numerous squabbles – ranging from trivial to significant – hinder the beginning of mourning as they gather around their father, who lies motionless in a nearby room.

It’s worth noting that each actor was carefully chosen by Jacobs, as it seems fitting considering how perfectly each role appeared tailored for them. Intriguingly, Jacobs had actually crafted the roles with these specific actors in mind.

In simpler terms, the speaker is saying that she was already interested in working with someone because her husband, Tracy Letts, had worked with him twice. However, it was a compliment when the person approached her for a role, as they were friends and she wasn’t sure if he valued her acting abilities.

In this role, Coon portrays Katie, the oldest among the siblings. She’s depicted as quite anxious and, according to the actor himself, possessing a strong need for control.

However, since she’s a big sister herself, she empathized deeply with the character, finding herself particularly attuned to the genuine depth of the sibling bonds portrayed in the story.

In this adaptation, Christina, the youngest sibling, is portrayed by Olsen. She often serves as a link between the other characters, despite grappling with the emotional turmoil and the responsibility of being separated from her little ones.

In a prior collaboration, Olsen worked with Jacobs on the drama series “Sorry For Your Loss.” However, she also confesses that she was taken aback somewhat by the fact that he specifically wrote a part for her.

As she put it, “I’ve never had anyone craft a storyline for me from scratch.” Aza and I had tossed around ideas for various projects… but this one felt uniquely distinct from the characters we’d previously brainstormed.

What stood out the most to me was his plan to write the script for Natasha and Carrie, two actresses I can hardly picture working together due to scheduling conflicts, which to me, feels like an unrealistic dream scenario.

She remarks: “I’ve never participated in a project before where the writer seemed to have tailored the script perfectly for these actresses. What astounds me even more is how swiftly everyone grasped their roles, which I find truly incredible.

Regarding Lyonne’s character, she portrays Rachel, a sister frequently ostracized by her other siblings. This stems from the fact that Rachel isn’t biologically related to their shared father, as she was born from his second marriage.

In a similar vein as Olsen’s perspective on the project being an “absurdist fantasy,” Russian Doll star also emphasizes how everything seemed impeccably aligned. Moreover, she expresses her own sense of gratification when Jacobs offered her the role.

She mentions that she’s frequently written her own works and collaborated with Rian Johnson on “Poker Face.” However, what she lacked was the opportunity to work with an established writer-director, a true auteur, who would create a role for her without any prior relationship between them.

“My relationship with Amy Poehler has always been about saying things like ‘Let’s create something together, let’s write it.’ However, this particular project was unique because there was no prior discussion or planning beforehand.

His Three Daughters cast on grief in cinema and having characters written just for them

In various scenes throughout the movie, Olsen’s character remarks that the actual experience of facing imminent death and the subsequent grieving period is usually portrayed differently in Hollywood films, where they tend to emphasize dramatic, intensely emotional scenes over the more subtle, understated process that typically happens.

In general, the movie appears to defy expectations by focusing on the mundane elements of the experience, a quality that drew Lyonne in. He described it as providing “no place to escape”.

As a film enthusiast, I bring up several movies that touch upon the complexities of grief in their unique ways. These include Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz, and two masterpieces by Hal Ashby – Harold and Maude and Coming Home. Each of these films offers a distinct perspective on mourning. However, His Three Daughters takes a fresh approach to the subject matter yet again.

“I’m trying to sort of put my finger on when you’ve seen grief,” she says.

Just as movies often depict mortality to help us confront our shared human concerns, this situation reminds me of something unusual – simply sitting with an emotion. It’s quite uncommon for us to experience the need to just remain still and feel.

As a seasoned movie critic, I once found myself in an unusual predicament – shedding real tears on stage during a play’s performance. My director, ever the enigmatic artist, suggested a peculiar method: simply sitting there for a moment, allowing the emotions to well up within me, and seeing if they would manifest as tears. Intrigued and apprehensive, I decided to give it a shot. The outcome left me utterly astounded.

She remarks, “It was quite extraordinary,” she says. “For someone like me, who’s constantly on the go – I prefer not to feel anything! – being forced to pause, even for a moment, and then realizing what had happened. It’s as if the whole movie makes you do that in an unusual manner.

In my perspective as a movie aficionado, this flick predominantly adheres to the norms of reality-based storytelling. However, in a pivotal moment towards the end, it veers off course and dives headfirst into the captivating world of magical realism – an unexpected twist that undeniably caught my attention. Without spoiling the plot, I can assure you that this scene is a powerful, thought-provoking burst that elevates the film to new heights. If you’re intrigued by Coon’s unique cinematic vision, I recommend giving it a watch!

As a film enthusiast, I’ve come to appreciate that my favorite artists seldom stick to pure realism. I believe this stems from the fact that true real-life experiences cannot be fully encapsulated within art. Instead, we frequently find ourselves discussing the elusive deathbed conversation, a moment that is more myth than reality. Regrettably, such conversations are rare, and even when they occur, they seldom meet our expectations.

She continues: “And so, Aza is not interested in playing by the rules. That was the thing that I loved about it. And I think the art that I love the most rarely plays by the rule book. It breaks the constraints. And that’s what Aza does well.”

Olsen believes that incorporating this element into the play provides a new layer of complexity, which a strictly realistic approach might not be able to achieve.

She notes that this movie feels grounded in genuine, everyday life. She finds it intriguing when filmmakers like Aza push boundaries by deviating from traditional storytelling. To her, this approach may create a sense of the extraordinary or fantastical.

She says that often the films that she is most moved by are ones that deal in metaphor and allegory, which is often easier to connect with than something that is “incredibly specific”.

She notes that while his scenes seem incredibly genuine, they also allow us an escape to imagine our personal desires within them. She finds this approach to be more powerful than a stark portrayal of reality.

After showing at numerous film festivals, garnering favorable critiques, actors Olsen, Coon, and Lyonne have received a variety of viewer feedback. Interestingly, Lyonne comments that the overall experience has been quite emotional.

She clarifies, “It feels as if we tailor-made it exclusively for ourselves or perhaps Aza. What’s surprising is the fact that by signing up, he had such a clear, detailed vision, unlike typical results-oriented filmmaking. Given our past successes on TV and Lizzie’s movie roles, this unique approach might have become familiar to us.

In my opinion, the surprising outcome was achieving such a reaction merely by remaining steadfast, modest, and concentrated.

She added: “I’ve never encountered anything quite like this, where something so simple and personal seems to resonate so strongly that it ends up on a billboard [for the film]. Amazingly, we hadn’t even announced that we were making the movie. This indicates a demand for such a project.

Olsen is touched by the reaction as well, yet she specifically acknowledges the backing the movie got from Netflix – a streaming service not often praised by film enthusiasts for its methods of distributing acquired films.

She comments, “What’s truly heartening with Netflix handling this project is their dedication towards the actual cinema aspect of it. In fact, we were allowed to create a print of this movie for exclusive screenings, and they agreed to have it run in theaters two weeks before streaming it online.

They’ve assumed responsibility for this project, expanding our chance to exhibit the film significantly. Yet, they’ve stayed faithful to our original vision – the movie should be screened in a cinema. It would be wonderful if we could produce a print that allows viewers to experience it just as Aza intended, with the magic of projection.

Throughout the process, there’s been clear intention at each stage. It’s remarkable how our work is also reaching another audience through their platform. The dedication to this project, however, has exceeded my expectations; it’s been a collaborative effort I hadn’t anticipated, and it’s been truly touching.

Beginning this coming Friday, 20th September, you can stream “His Three Daughters” exclusively on Netflix. Subscription plans start at just £4.99 per month. Additionally, Netflix can be accessed on both Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream platforms as well.

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2024-09-19 19:36