No. 75 (2021) SHIVA BABY. SEPT. 20th.

 

Film No. 75 (2021)  September 20th.  4:40 PM   Cinema 1   LUNA,  Leederville. 

"You look like Gwyneth Paltrow on food stamps"(Danielle receives yet another sharp lecture from mother Debbie who has nothing but big plans for her daughter).

Now here is a smart farce that never overstays it's welcome. SHIVA BABY has lots to say and while it could be played out on a stage, the clever use of camera gives it great cinema presence.

Rachel Sennott excels in only her second feature after TAHARA (2020). Sennott is the star of SHIVA BABY. She plays daughter Danielle weighed down by family expectations (mother's in particular), her sexuality, trying to finance an independent life and finally study. It's no picnic, so when we meet Danielle at a Shiva (Jewish wake) our 77 minutes in her company compresses these stresses into a concentrated bubble; that is what makes first time director Emma Seligman's film so clever.

Seligman has served, like so many up and coming directors, an apprenticeship in making short films. She is a Canadian who, she says, is destined to work in the U.S. She is only 25 years old so some of her shorts were submissions filmed as part of her studies. SHIVA BABY is a case in point. It was a short film she presented as a thesis. Some of it's parts stem from first hand experiences. It must be noted she never owns up to the fact she actually did alternative baby-sitting duties (SHIVA BABY in-joke).

This film is being lauded internationally as I type. Polly Draper and Fred Melamed are highly respected character actors who play Danielle's parents. They are pitch perfect. Molly Gordon as love interest Maya may well have expanded her horizons' career wise. And finally the soundtrack has a starring role. The tight use of sharp strings screeching brings tension to this coming of age gem. 10GUMS.