Familial tensions abound in Jarmusch’s newest
Six years after his much acclaimed sardonic zombie film The Dead Don’t Die, writer/director Jim Jarmusch is back with a low-key follow up that may only appeal to his faithful fans. Father Mother Sister Brother isn’t an extended narrative, but actually three short films in one. The triptych shares thematic and odd, amusing plot elements, but no characters. Taken as a whole, the film is an entertaining but somewhat forgettable look at the often strained relationship between family members.
In the opening story, titled “Father,” two disconnected siblings, Emily (Mayim Bialik) and Jeff (Adam Driver), visit their estranged, eccentric father, Bob (Tom Waits, in what’s easily the film’s best performance). The awkwardness in the room is palpable, as the adult children try to assess their father’s condition and circumstances in his isolated rural New Jersey home. Props to Jarmusch for casting Driver and Bialik; that they actually look like they could be related adds to the situation’s veracity. Jeff, clearly still seeking his father’s approval, is more sympathetic and quick to offer help, while Emily is more guarded. A minor twist at the segment’s end provides not just a slyly humorous moment, but insight into how the family’s relationship may have evolved into its present, alienated state.
The second piece, “Mother,” is set a world away in Dublin, where two sisters, who seem only slightly closer to each other than Jeff and Emily, visit their emotionally reserved mother (Charlotte Rampling, delightfully chilly) for the world’s most uncomfortable afternoon tea. Cate Blanchett, skillfully diverging from her typical psychologically intense, passionate roles (Black Bag; Tár, Nightmare Alley), plays straight-laced, zipped up Timothea, while the terrific Luxembourgish/German actress Vicky Krieps (Old; Phantom Thread) plays Lilith, the more scattered, unconventional sister. Like Jeff and Emily, both Timothea and Lilith seem to be vying for their mother’s approval and attention, even as her cool politeness borders on outright disinterest.
In the final vignette, two siblings meet to bid a final goodbye to their family’s Paris apartment, now empty following their parents’ recent death. Skye (Indya Moore) and her twin brother Billy (Luka Sabbat) seem to have more of a bond than the siblings in the previous vignettes, but their story is the film’s least interesting, and worst acted. Both Moore and Sabbat give mannered, affected performances, imbuing Jarmusch’s dialog with a staginess that feels forced and unnatural. Moore, however, was nominated for a Gotham Supporting Actress Award, which I have to assume was to honor her nuanced and moving moments of wordless grief and reflection, which are far better and more authentic than her somewhat stilted line delivery.
Common to all three scenarios are curious bits involving skateboarding teenagers, color coordinated wardrobes, beverage choices, and quirky phrases and words. Why Jarmusch decided on using these peculiar throughlines is hard to say; perhaps he wanted to show that no matter where you are in the world, there are features of family dynamics that never change. We all have our tensions, our lingering hurts, but also our inside jokes and similarities that bind us despite ourselves. After all, as Leo Tolstoy famously wrote, “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” If you agree and want to watch someone else’s family drama play out, Jarmusch’s latest is for you.
– – – – –
Father Mother Sister Brother is currently playing in San Francisco at the AMC Metreon, Landmark Opera Plaza, and the Alamo Drafthouse. A February expansion will include showings at Berkeley’s Rialto Elmwood theater.
