Father Mother Sister Brother: A Star-Studded Family Dramedy

Writer-director Jim Jarmusch’s first film in over six years, Father Mother Sister Brother sees him once again return to the anthology format, something he has done several times over the course of his career. Premiering at last year’s Venice International Film Festival, the film went on to win The Golden Lion, the top prize of the festival. The film follows three separate stories that concerning the relationships between adult children, their somewhat distant parents, and each other. The first story features a reclusive father (Waits) visited by his grown children Jeff and Emily (Driver, Bialik), the second centers around sisters Timothea and Lillith (Driver, Bialik) visiting their novelist mother (Rampling), and the third and final story follows twins Skye and Billy (Indya Moore, Luka Sabbat) called back to their Paris apartment after a family tragedy. All in all, while a solid return for Jarmusch that will appeal to fans of his earlier work, those with high expectations, following its Golden Lion win, may be left disappointed.

An effective understated dramedy, Jarmusch’s grounded approach way that will connect with a large part of audiences. Like a fly on the wall in the lives of his engaging characters, sometimes to an uncomfortable degree, he imbues each tale with similar themes in a clever and funny way, while making them feel distinct. Starting off strong, Driver and Bialik are great as Jeff and Emily, siblings whose incredibly strained relationship with their unusual father remains as mysterious to the audience as and his children. However, the first tale easily belongs to Waits, who absolutely commands the screen as their reclusive father. As funny as it is unpredictable, the first tale ends on a genius note, but also one that will leave audiences wanting more. Moving on, the second tale offers another strong exploration that is well acted by Rampling, Blanchett, and Krieps, beautifully shot (as is the film as a whole), and ends off on a powerful note, with Krieps’ colorful hair being a standout. The final tale is the most beautiful, and also the most tragic of the three. Moore and Sabbat have a great brother sister dynamic as Skye and Billy, making for two characters audiences will grow to care about over their short time on screen and delivering the best performances in the film next to Waits.

While an engaging triptych tale from Jarmusch, it is ultimately a lesser effort from him behind the camera. Each tale could have been its own feature film, for better or worse, limited by the constraints of the film’s format. However good they may be, many will be left wishing that they were just a bit longer. Meanwhile, his subdued direction also lends to a very slow pace, which will inevitably be a point of contention for some audiences who may be turned off by its pace or unwilling to return to the film sometime down the road. All things considered, Father Mother Sister Brother is certainly well made and one of Jarmusch’s best works in recent memory, as his latest effort harkens back to the kind of films that have been his bread and butter. Though it may not be the next classic, it is still a film worth checking out, especially for fans of Jarmusch, anthologies, or even just films centered around the sometimes complicated relationships between children and parents. While perhaps not the flashiest or most exciting Golden Lion winner, it is great to see the festival award something a film as small, intimate, and lowkey as this one.

still courtesy of MUBI

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Connor Carey

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