Shiva Baby (2021) - 7/10

Shiva Baby is a microbudget production that had an impressive streaming run after its release. It manages to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time and is a great character piece. So, much like another review I just finished, this is a 6/10 - but a strong 6. (Future writer here - I'm back having finished the review and decided to bump this up to a 7). Let's see what the rubric has.

1. Acting 

 Fantastic acting, especially from its star Rachel Sennott, helps keep this film afloat. It's a character driven film and manages to cram a lot of different themes into its short runtime. 

For her part, Sennott always keep the chaoticness of Danielle believable. It's a coming of age type film and Sennott's performance lets the audiences in on Danielle's inner narrative without ever saying a word about it. Her expressions and body language tell you everything that is going on. She also does well mixing in both the bratty and masking side of Danielle.

The rest of the cast is also excellent in the film. Polly Draper plays the somewhat stereotypical Jewish mother with a great sense of authenticity- but also doesn't miss a beat when the story needs her to show her love and compassion for her daughter. Danny Deferrari also does a wonderful job playing a bit of the smarmy dick 'sugar daddy' to Danielle and his wife Kim played by Dianna Agron manages to really pull tension into every scene as she slowly starts putting pieces together as the story unfolds. The last performer I will mention is Molly Gordon as Maya. She bounces between bitter ex and caring admirer very well and helps anchor Danielle and the plot as its searches for a conclusion.

2. Cinematography 

Despite the restrictive filming location, the crew manages to do a lot with simple setups. The handheld style fits very well into some of the greater themes of the movie such as anxiety. The claustrophobia it gives on its tight close-ups really sells tension and emotion from the actors. Later in the film when Danielle seems very close to an anxiety attack, the blurring and extreme close ups were a heavy handed but nice touch to absorb the audience and make them uncomfortable.

3. Production/Costume Design

 On the very small budget of $200,000, the team didn't have a ton to work with here. The movie seems to have been filmed entirely on a single location. Despite the lack of frills, the singular setting does seem to help sell the realism of the movie.

 4. Writing 

 Writer/director Emma Seligman wrote the film based loosely on real life experiences she either had or witnessed. The result is a very authentic feeling film with high levels of relatability. 

Danielle, in particular, feels like a very well drawn out character. She is humorous, kind and smart; but she is also immature, struggling with self-worth, and filled with anxiety. The setting of the film then amplifies all of her worst characteristics. She is thrust into a situation where everyone is judgmental, immature in their own respects, and overbearing.

And even if you don't fully relate to Danielle and her struggles, the 'situation' is universally relatable. The Jewish tradition of Shiva is specific to the characters, but could easily be swapped out for any number of family traditions of other cultures. All of these events can feel strangling as we project insecurities on the intrusiveness of others. The anxiety of scrutiny at an event like this can be a difficult thing to overcome. 

It is also refreshing to see a movie that will put a character's bisexuality on full display while still making it feel extremely natural. The 'jokes' or comments from the relatives and family friends about Danielle and Maya's relationship seems all too real. And I never even questioned the two very different 'love' interests that Danielle bounces between during the film. 

However, for all the great things the script manages to do, it doesn't seem to have much of an actual full story to tell. As the credits rolled I remember thinking that the film felt like a really long short film - only to find out that this was in fact an adaptation of  Seligman's short film of the same name. I'm being a bit reductive in this, but the plot is basically: Messy girl attends a Shiva and is messy. And I know that I already mentioned that this is a character piece - but I'm not fully sold on this being a fully realized arc for that character. And the film's conclusion, despite it being very funny, doesn't offer much resolution for its characters or their relationships.

5. Sound Design 

 This is a trimmed down but very good OST. The score is full of string plucking and sharp individual notes that heighten tension without being overbearing. It was smartly executed.

6. Editing 

Coming in at just 78 minutes, this film makes for a quick watch. The edit is succinct and its only real flaw may be that the script has a very limited conclusion.

7. Visual Effects 

 Not really applicable here.

8. Originality or Strength of Adaptation 

 Without seeing the short film version of Shiva Baby, I cant say if this was a worthy elongating of the original or not. But I do find that this film is able to rise above a lot of similar coming-of-age types of films by feeling very authentic at every turn.

9. Stunt Coordination

 Nothing to note

 10. Direction

 Seligman definitely makes a strong impression with her feature debut here. She seems to be a very talented artists and has a great ability to take Gen Z and Queer sensibilities/experiences and broaden the themes for larger audiences.

 Legacy/Final Thoughts

There was a bit of a ground swell of support for this film after its release. The film spent 16 weeks as a top film on the streaming platform Mubi. Critics were also quick to recognize the strengths of the movie earning Seligman and crew high ratings across the board. However, this film hasn't yet captured the attention of a larger audience and will likely be remembered as being the film that helped launch the careers of future stars like Seligman, Sennott and Gordon.