Shiva Baby

Hollywood has taken a lot of body blows recently; from COVID; from the endless demand for streaming content; and from audience pushback against Tinseltown's horrid culture of self-adoration. Viz, the historically low ratings for the award shows. The only content sector unaffected by all his is the indie category. And, with almost Biblical timing, along comes Emma Seligman, an indie writer/director with an ear for dialog and an eye for staging a scene. She faithfully delivers just the sort of fun ethnic romp which, only a few short years ago, would have been the exclusive territory of a "name" writer or director. Good for her! Recommended.

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.

This movie definitely exceeded my expectations. If you enjoyed Trey Edward Schultz's "Krisha", and you want another story of a woman at a family gathering with an atmosphere of uncomfortable tension punctuated by a low-key score, but as a comedy, you'll probably really enjoy this movie.

Maintaining a strong sense of energy/tension/discomfort/hilarity for a whole movie IS VERY VERY DIFFICULT and VERY IMPRESSIVE.

From the perspective of the protagonist Danielle everyone else seems to have their lives figured out and her refusal to be honest about her uncertainty of where her life is going leads to plenty of awkward miscommunication and amusing moments. The performers' delivery of the script is great, which is a huge relief, because great scripts, particularly for comedies, can fall flat if the delivery isn't perfectly in-sync with the screenwriter's intent. Plenty of indie comedies with decent scripts lack convincing dialogue delivery.

The tension builds along with the intensity of the score and the suffocating way the shots are composed. The grinning faces of Danielle's elderly relatives are occasionally framed in a way that they appear comically menacing.

I'm always looking for good comedies, which can be hard to come by. This is sincerely the best comedy movie of 2020. EXCELLENT JOB EMMA SELIGMAN I AM NOW A FAN!

Great movie, did not expect to like it that much. Don't be fooled by a comedy tag, it's definitely not a film for everyone. Dark, awkward and cringe it's made for you to feel claustrophobic and anxious (ergo the annoying crying baby). Excellent performance and well executed movie, maybe just don't smoke w while watching, it's pretty intense.

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.