KRISHA, directed by Trey Edward Shults, is one of those movies that you can appreciate once, but are likely never going to want to revisit. The film won both the Grand Jury and Audience prizes for narrative film at SXSW this week and it’s clear why the movie connected with so many here. But again, this is such an emotionally taxing movie that getting any energy to see it a second time will be difficult.
The film centers on Krisha, played by Shults’ real-life aunt Krisha Fairchild. After staying away from her large family for so long - including her son (Shults) - and trying to get sober, she finally returns one Thanksgiving Day. She hopes that cooking the meal will prove that she has her life back on track.
As the family gathers together and her mother, who can’t remember Krisha, arrives, the night gets more difficult. Her discussion with her brother-in-law gets more combative and she fails to reconnect with her son. It’s becoming clear that she doesn’t fit in with her own family any longer. At one point, she is told that she’s “heartbreak incarnate.” So, how on earth is she supposed to enjoy dinner now?
Shults keeps his film moving in a way that’s never boring. The audience can never guess how he is going to present the next scene. While characters are spewing venom at each other, the camera is constantly moving. Shults clearly is fascinated with long takes, which make the movie more intimate and realistic.
Interestingly, Shults uses shifting aspect ratios to frame dramatic events differently. It changes space, with the more tense sequence presented in a wide ratio, while the final sequences are actually shown in a square (that’s 1.33:1 for ratio geeks). This makes the close-ups more intense or actions more dynamic, but feels a tad pointless for such a small film. We are already in a claustrophobic space, so tightening or widening the image isn’t necessary to highlight the action.
KRISHA is a hard film to recommend. Yes, the performances are intense and the story is relatable to just about anyone who hosts Thanksgiving dinner, but you have to be in the right frame of mind to want to experience that on the big screen.
image courtesy of SXSW