I’m a fan of one-location films when they are done right. His Three Daughters is done impeccably well and it’s one of the better movies I’ve seen like this. Even though it cheats a bit on the one location. This movie has a stage play feel to it so it makes sense that it’s very tight regarding the apartment setting. The way it’s filmed even lends itself to this style as well.  The style and location are just the tip of the iceberg though. The acting and story are the real reasons to see this three-hander.

An old man Vincent (Jay O Sanders) is dying of cancer and is cared for by his three daughters Katie (Carrie Coon), Christina (Elizabeth Olson), and Rachel (Natasha Lyonne) who don’t always get along with each other.  There are also two hospice nurses who help with the old man’s care as well. They are just in the background while the real meat and potatoes of the story are the three sisters. Their family dynamic is the main aspect of this film.

The three main actresses Coon, Olson, and Lyonne are all terrific in their own ways. Coon is the outspoken sister who wants to get things done. Specifically a DNF form and an obituary are matters that concern her the most. Olson’s character is the sister who shows a lot of love to her father. She volunteered to keep an eye on him more than the other two. Lyonne on the other hand keeps her distance from her ill father. She just can’t stand being close to him on his dead bed, literally. She’s more laid back in this scenario. Overall the three actresses are all stellar in their respective roles as the daughters.

This movie hit me hard because it reminded me of a situation my family is going through. The story isn’t exactly like ours, but it’s very similar. Instead of three sisters dealing with an ailing father, it’s three brothers. As of right now, we’re all still living at our homes which are close to where my father lives. Which differs from the three sisters all living together in a small New York City apartment building. The father with cancer is right on the money though. My brothers and I have had different roles in my father’s situation similar to the three sisters in this film. Our scenarios are so similar it’s uncanny to me. I’m just dreading my father’s passing, but it’s not easy for me to deal with because of our relationship over the years. The three sisters have similar situations.

The direction of this film was very good by Azazel Jacobs. He moved the cameras around to not show a lot of the same type of scenes. He paired various characters with each other as well. Having the bench as a fallback for the Lyonne character helped. With such a small location and tight quarters, it wasn’t easy to keep things looking fresh in this movie. The tight quarters were like a quarantine situation. We all know how that feels because we went through it a couple of years ago. This is fantastic camera work though.

One of the things about this story that was hard for me to watch, even though I loved the film, was the arguing with each other from the three sisters. I only can say based on my relationship with my brothers that we don’t always get along with each other. Similar to the sister here. They all have their own lives and this situation is an interruption of their everyday lives. A couple of them are more invested in their father’s circumstances than the other is. Similar to my own relationship with my father. The arguing reminded me of my own family more than I’d like to remember.  We may be in for this sooner than we’d like very soon.

His Three Daughters might as well have been called his three sons. It’s so similar to my own family situation.  The arguing siblings wasn’t easy to watch. How the three sisters each dealt with these circumstances was very interesting to me. It’s, once again, very similar to my own family situation.  I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but it’s uncanny how close this reminded me of my family. The three actresses were all good, but Coon was the standout. She brought the most emotion to her character. The camera work by the director and cinematographer accompanies the fantastic acting very nicely. This movie resonated with me quite a bit. I was very surprised how it affected me as much as it did. I hope audiences resonate with it as much as I did. 

Streaming on Netflix

4 stars

Dan Skip Allen