Shiva Baby
Shiva Baby is an anxiety inducing film that will make you grateful that you don’t have to spend the afternoon stuffed in a house full of your nosiest friends and family. Image courtesy of HBO Max.
Written and Directed by Emma Seligman
Rating: 🏆 most excellent
Danielle (Rachel Sennott) is a college student who just wants to get through a funeral while ignoring as many “so what are you doing after graduation?” conversations as she can. But things get complicated when her ex-girlfriend (Molly Gordon) and her sugar daddy (Danny Deferrari) both show up. Navigating the minefield of family and old family friends becomes almost unbearable in this all-too-real anxiety inducing film.
This is director Emma Seligman’s first feature film and she’s proven that she is one of Hollywood’s most promising young directors. The film feels so real and that is partially because it is. Seligman was given the advice to write what she knew, so she chose to write a script about a bi-sexual Jewish girl who dabbled in sex work. While the movie is not based on her life per se, it is based on her identity and experiences.
The story is universally applicable. Even if you’re not a bisexual Jewish woman, I think we’ve all experienced moments where we feel like everyone expects us to grow up and have life figured out. Rather than disappoint everyone or feel like a failure, it is easy to lie and pretend to be what everyone thinks we should be. Shiva Baby captures that moment in time perfectly, and all the uncomfortable emotions that come with it.
Review written by Zianna Weston
Shiva Baby can make anyone dread the question “so what are you doing after graduation?”. Image courtesy of HBO Max.
