With this film, adapted by writer-director Stephen Karam from his Tony award winning 2015 play, we have a new contender for (though not necessarily winner of) the Ideal Dysfunctional Thanksgiving Movie.
…the Ideal Dysfunctional Thanksgiving Movie.
Like the others, which include PIECES OF APRIL (2003) and KRISHA (2015), THE HUMANS is a modestly mounted film about familial strife becoming even more so on Turkey Day. It was mounted, in part, by mega-producer (and legendary bully) Scott Rudin, who produced the play’s Broadway incarnation but left the film to “take the time to work on personal issues I should have long ago.” The finished product wound up being acquired by the Showtime cable TV network.
THE HUMANS is a modestly mounted film about familial strife becoming even more so on Turkey Day.
Depicted is the Blake family—elderly patriarch Erik, his wife Deirdre, his Alzheimer’s afflicted mother Momo, his seemingly contented daughter Brigid, her sickly and unemployed sister Aimee and Brigid’s boyfriend Richard—gathering for Thanksgiving in Brigid’s ancient Manhattan apartment. From the start the vibe is affectionate but twisted, an effect enhanced by the ominous atmosphere of the house, in which creaking doors, leaking pipes and crumbling walls predominate. The decaying building mirrors the steadily fraying family dynamic, as day turns to night and long-simmering generational divides and personal resentments—and a dark secret being harbored by Erik—rise to the fore.
From the start the vibe is affectionate but twisted…
Stephen Karam never quite succeeds in rendering this quintessentially stage-bound material cinematic, but he does give his filmic components quite a workout. It’s an impressive directorial debut that favors wide shots (seen more often than not through open doors and hallways), which is a bit of a problem given the small screen distribution. What close-ups we get are usually portions of the supremely creepy house setting, which assumes the status of a character in its own right.
It’s an impressive directorial debut that favors wide shots (seen more often than not through open doors and hallways)…
That character is a bit overwrought. “Why didn’t we ask the landlord to replace the lightbulbs when we moved in?” inquires Brigid at one point, which is something I wondered myself. It also seems odd that she didn’t think to repaint the ultra-staid white walls or hang anything on them, nor repair the leaky pipes.
Acting-wise everyone in the cast, culled from the indie film world, is strong, even Amy Schumer (who many claim “ruins” the movie) as Aimee. They’re complimented by expertly wrought cinematography and sound design in a film that diverges quite dramatically from Chicago Tribune critic Chris Jones’ oft-quoted description of the play; “kind, warm, beautifully observed and deeply moving” are not adjectives I’d use to describe this stark, chilly, bleakly observed and deeply unsettling film.
Vital Statistics
THE HUMANS
A24/IAC Films
Director: Stephen Karam
Producers: Louise Lovegrove, Stephen Karam
Screenplay: Stephen Karam
(Based on a play by Stephen Karam)
Cinematography: Lol Crawley
Editing: Nick Houy
Cast: Richard Jenkins, Jayne Houdyshell, Amy Schumer, Beanie Feldstein, Steven Yeun, June Squibb