Krisha

For reasons never made entirely evident, 60-something Krisha has willfully severed ties for several years with her family, including a now young adult son. She decides to reconnect with her kin for Thanksgiving dinner at the suburban home of her sister and her family.

I grew up in a suburban Texas community not unlike the one which serves as the setting for the entirety of "Krisha". As such, I can almost literally sense the air, smell the scents and feel the sensibility of the space these characters inhabit. I have lived it. The memories for me are lasting. And they are abundantly good. Not so in this mostly morose and melancholy scenario.

Veteran but still little-known actress Krisha Fairchild ("The Killing of John Lennon" representing one of a handful of somewhat recognizable credits) delivers remarkable and wrenching work here. Fairchild is exceptionally effecting as she gives us a deeply troubled profile of an irrevocably tortured soul riddled with substance abuse, self loathing, uncontrollable anger and crippling regret.

This is a mysterious woman to be sure. Where exactly has Krisha been for all of these years in estrangement? What is it that has occupied her life during this time of indistinct purpose? Krisha reveals only vague hints and innuendo to various members of an uncomfortably skeptical family. Observing the holiday festivities and camaraderie carry on all about her, she remains remote, detached, never engaging in any of it, focusing instead almost exclusively and at her own insistence on preparing the super-sized turkey for that evening's meal.

The very characteristics that make Fairchild's portrayal so riveting are the same traits that make this excruciatingly conflicted character so dreadfully off-putting. Because we do not come to know practically anything at all about why Krisha ever abandoned her family in the first place, we never have a frame of reference for why she would ever even choose to do this. This confounding ambiguity leaves us feeling as distant from Krisha as she is from her own flesh and blood relatives. How can we genuinely invest in and grow to care for a person about whom we know virtually nothing and who has given us no compelling reason to do so? We feel very sorry for Krisha, sure. But beyond that we are inspired to generate little if any emotion beyond pure pity.

Technically, much of the key speech in "Krisha" was extremely difficult to make out, either as a result of it being overly hushed or garbled as characters talked over and above each other. I by and large appreciate natural dialogue as it is spoken in "real life" in most films, a dynamic that first time feature Writer and Director Trey Edward Shults was clearly striving for in his project. But when it is impossible to decipher what is being said, even after rewinding and replaying these scenes as I was able to do, the overall effect which you are efforting to achieve is unfortunately, and frustratingly, lost in translation. Moments involving Krisha and her wheelchair-bound mentally fragile mother, and what should have been a memorably moving interchange between Krisha and her long-suffering sister toward the end of the picture, are two especially conspicuous examples of these audio recording shortcomings really hurting the overall impact of the story.

Shults's choice to employ a constant instrumental undercurrent of enormously edgy electronica for the first several minutes of "Krisha" certainly serves it's purpose of establishing an atmosphere of palpably building tension. But soon the moody music devolves into an overdone distraction, eventually becoming simply an ill-advised artistic affectation.

This is criticism reasonably forgivable for a rookie from a personal perspective. But ideally they are lasting lessons learned in what, even with these missteps, looks to be a considerably capable career.

This is a depressing movie. Unrelentingly so. And I know from depressing flicks, having seen my share of them over the years. However, there aren't many among this gloomy group that I would rank above "Krisha".

In the end, nothing is clarified and nothing is resolved in "Krisha". Consequently, as an audience we are left with no appreciable degree of either resonance nor redemption. Only a sad and sour familial holiday experience. And, though granted generally not this extent, haven't we all in our own lives had our fill of at least some manner of domestic dysfunction? Watching somebody else's tumult and torture and classifying it as worse than one's own is not exactly a superlative barometer for satisfying cinematic consumption.

I'm giving "Krisha" a charitable 6 out of 10, almost entirely, and quite candidly, because the film was shot in The Lone Star State and out of high regard for Fairchild's arresting performance.

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.

"Krisha" brings the story of the title character. As the movie opens, we see Krishna, a woman in her 60s, arriving with her suitcase at a house in suburban Texas. Turns out to be her sister Robyn's house, and the entire family is gathering for Thanksgiving, and also to celebrate the birth of a baby to Robyn's daughter. It is clear that this is Krisha's first time seeing most of them in a long time, and that during that absence she deal with personal issues. At this point we're maybe 10 minutes into the movie, but to tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this movie is a labor of love for Trey Edward Shults, who directed, wrote, edited and stars in the movie. Not to mention that this movie was made on less than a shoestring (primary funding came from a small Kickstarter campaign). In the first half of the movie, we witness how this family is enjoying their time together, even if it is straining for Krisha. But the second half of the movie truly delivers. One key scene after another unfolds, and will leave you nailed to your seat. There are a number of key performances, none more so than Krisha Faichild in the title role (most other characters also use their real life names in the movie). Check out the scene where she is reunited with her mentally frail mother, who looks to be in her 90s. Just wow. Robyn Fairchild as Krisha's sister is equally excellent. There is an interesting score courtesy of (for me unknown) Brian McOmber.

This movie made quite a splash at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. No idea why it's taken over a year for this to finally get a release in theaters, but better late than not. "Krisha" opened this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, and I couldn't wait to see it. The early evening screening where I saw this at was attended okay but not great. That is a darn shame. This is a top notch if heavy duty family drama which deserves a larger audience. If you have a chance to see this, be it in the theater, on VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, by all means do not miss it! "Krisha" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

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.

I don't know where that "comedy" label on IMDb comes from. I don't think it functions even as a black comedy. Absolutely heavy and quite dark, but fabulously written, directed, and acted. There are many films that deal with this sort of premise (even Rachel Getting Married comes to mind) but this really took it to another level. Completely immersive, watching it all unravel just hurts to watch. Not an easy viewing by any means and definitely one that will divide audiences completely (even on this board, I can see many people hating it). I loved it though, easily one of the best of the year so far. Krisha Fairchild should absolutely be in contention for end-of-the- year awards, and Trey Edward Shults shows a lot of talent.