Krisha (2015)

October 18, 2020 3:00 PM

When Krisha returns to her estranged family for Thanksgiving dinner, past demons threaten to ruin the festivities.

Guardian review

posted by iamkimiam (2 comments total)

I've read a lot of reviews of this film and they all tend to focus on Krisha and what she's done to this family. I've yet to find one that goes into how awful and unsupportive the family is too or the impossible, unwinnable Thanksgiving nightmare Krisha's in. I could go on in much more detail here, but I'd like to hear other's thoughts and observations.
posted by iamkimiam at 3:35 PM on October 18, 2020 [2 favorites]

Really liked this movie. Some of the details I found most affecting or resonant:

-The low frustration tolerance Krisha shows from the very first scenes when she steps in a puddle. Long time substance dependence seems to really stunt the development of tolerating negative experiences and this felt very real.
- The portrayal of the overstimulating environment in the crowded house: how Krisha experienced all the sounds and people as this wall of overwhelming input.
- The ambiguity about her son's character - I forget his name but he's the director too right? I got the feeling of him as having some unhealthy substance use himself - his stash of vodka and Ritilin or whatever in his room - and how he'd keep getting up and slipping out of the room. His squirming attempts to tolerate her presence were just so real too.

I didn't experience the family as awful, just, normal. Like a family with challenges and strengths like any other. But I was impressed by how the movie showed enormous empathy for Krisha while still showing her as causing harm to those around her.
posted by latkes at 10:11 AM on October 19, 2020