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The Humans
It's a little squirm-worthy and requires complete attention that pays off somewhat, but 2021's The Humans is a voyeuristic look at a family celebrating Thanksgiving that is unlike any holiday movie this reviewer has seen and but was riveted for most of the proceedings.
It's Thanksgiving Day and the setting is one of those large pre-war duplexes in Manhattan. Brigid and her boyfriend, Rich, have just moved into this duplex, devoid of furniture, except for the two bridge tables they plan to serve Thanksgiving dinner on. The other guests are Brigid's parents, Erik and Deirdre, Brigid's older sister, Aimee, and Erik's mother, confined to a wheelchair and suffering from dementia.
This film is based on a play by Stephen Karam that opened on Broadway in February of 2016 and ran about a year. When it came time to bring it to the screen, Karam was not only allowed to adopt his play into a screenplay but to direct as well. This is obvious because Karam was clearly given free reign here and definitely gets a little full of himself.
I love that the screenplay takes a lot of time providing backstory for these family members. We are well into the final third of the film before we learn one character is a lesbian, one used to suffer from severe depression, one is a musician, one is an adulterer, two have been fired from their jobs, and one is going to inherit a huge amount of money in five years.
This is plenty material for a family dysfunction drama but Karam spends way too much time setting the film to look like a horror film and then showing us, in agonizing detail, this decaying building, not to mention interruptions from an upstairs neighbor which never come to any real fruition. Karam should have spent more time at this deliciously dysfunctional family's Thanksgiving bridge table, drinking out of Dixie cups. It's Thanksgiving with Woody Allen and Edward Albee.
The small ensemble cast works beautifully together. Jayne Houdyshell, who I recognized as a judge on Law and Order: SVU, is allowed to repeat her Tony Award winning role as Deirdre and Richard Jenkins is wonderful, as always, as her slightly pathetic husband, Erik. Beanie Feldstein, who stole every scene she had in Lady Bird is terrific as Brigid, as is Best Actor nominee from last year Stephen Yeun (Minari) as Rich. And for the first time, Amy Schumer was not completely annoying onscreen as Aimee. This could have been incredible if the director/screenwriter hadn't gotten a little full of himself.
It's a little squirm-worthy and requires complete attention that pays off somewhat, but 2021's The Humans is a voyeuristic look at a family celebrating Thanksgiving that is unlike any holiday movie this reviewer has seen and but was riveted for most of the proceedings.
It's Thanksgiving Day and the setting is one of those large pre-war duplexes in Manhattan. Brigid and her boyfriend, Rich, have just moved into this duplex, devoid of furniture, except for the two bridge tables they plan to serve Thanksgiving dinner on. The other guests are Brigid's parents, Erik and Deirdre, Brigid's older sister, Aimee, and Erik's mother, confined to a wheelchair and suffering from dementia.
This film is based on a play by Stephen Karam that opened on Broadway in February of 2016 and ran about a year. When it came time to bring it to the screen, Karam was not only allowed to adopt his play into a screenplay but to direct as well. This is obvious because Karam was clearly given free reign here and definitely gets a little full of himself.
I love that the screenplay takes a lot of time providing backstory for these family members. We are well into the final third of the film before we learn one character is a lesbian, one used to suffer from severe depression, one is a musician, one is an adulterer, two have been fired from their jobs, and one is going to inherit a huge amount of money in five years.
This is plenty material for a family dysfunction drama but Karam spends way too much time setting the film to look like a horror film and then showing us, in agonizing detail, this decaying building, not to mention interruptions from an upstairs neighbor which never come to any real fruition. Karam should have spent more time at this deliciously dysfunctional family's Thanksgiving bridge table, drinking out of Dixie cups. It's Thanksgiving with Woody Allen and Edward Albee.
The small ensemble cast works beautifully together. Jayne Houdyshell, who I recognized as a judge on Law and Order: SVU, is allowed to repeat her Tony Award winning role as Deirdre and Richard Jenkins is wonderful, as always, as her slightly pathetic husband, Erik. Beanie Feldstein, who stole every scene she had in Lady Bird is terrific as Brigid, as is Best Actor nominee from last year Stephen Yeun (Minari) as Rich. And for the first time, Amy Schumer was not completely annoying onscreen as Aimee. This could have been incredible if the director/screenwriter hadn't gotten a little full of himself.