[yasr_overall_rating]
Review by Bradley Smith
Krisha returns for Thanksgiving dinner after ten years away from her family, but past demons threaten to ruin the festivities.
Writer/director Trey Schults expands his 2014 short, “Krisha,” for his first feature-length film, the family drama also named Krisha. It is beautifully shot and provides a realistic look into an addiction that has the ability to drive a wedge between family members. On the downside, as is frequently the case in real life, the film offers no conclusions or resolutions; in fact ending in the middle of a huge argument that the movie builds toward.
The title character, played by Krisha Fairchild, is an alcoholic who has been away from her family for about a decade. After trying to get her life back on track, she makes an attempt to join them for Thanksgiving, even helping prepare the food. But, things do not go smoothly and she soon pops open a bottle, giving in to her past demons and causing all sorts of problems along with the resurfacing of emotional trauma amongst her family. Truly a heartbreaking story, more so if you know a troubled alcoholic.
The cinematography is excellent. The movie opens with one long scene showing Krisha arriving and finding her way through a few obstacles and dead ends to get to her family’s house and reunite with her family. The scene continues inside the house and you can tell within a few minutes that there is some latent tension between some of the guests. It isn’t long before their dialogue starts to fill in some details as to why this tension exists. There are a few breath-taking slow motion scenes as well. One scene involving the dinner, is poignant because you know tensions are going to bubble up quickly afterwards.
On an interesting note, it appears that many of the actors, including Krisha, are members of a real family; several of whom have only performed in Schults’ dual Krishas. For me, this added a level or appreciation and curiosity; wondering how much of their interactions/scenes are based on their real world relationships or how much is purely exceptionally realistic acting from first-time actors.
Overall, Krisha is a worthwhile film. It is mostly dramatic, though there is a tiny bit of comic relief. Whether intentional or otherwise, I laughed when Krisha was chatting with her brother-in-law about his dogs. I am totally in line with his views about dogs, but, like him, if I had a wife who loved dogs, I would love her dogs as well. I would have preferred some type of conclusion to the film other than cutting out in the middle of a fight. I didn’t watch “The Sopranos,” but I heard about the ending and that’s on par to the end of this film in my mind. But, I digress. It is still a very effective first-time entry from Trey Schults.
Now playing at the Angelika Film Center in Dallas
