Review of Krisha (2016) by Drew M — 28 Mar 2016

This micro-budget debut from Trey Edward Shults is one of the most powerful and humane movies in recent memory. This is a "holy shit" movie unlike anything you've ever seen that is absolutely worth taking a chance on.

Krisha is that member of the family who struggles to have her life together. She is addicted to alcohol and are dealing with many emotional problems and self loathing. In short, she's a complete mess. The reasons for this are mostly ambiguous, and though that leave some curious, it serves to generalize Krisha's character. The film takes place around Thanksgiving, when she hopes to redeem herself to her family after a long hiatus of what she calls self healing.

This is a film of remarkable empathy, and it only makes sense that the film is based on Trey Edward Shults' real family, with actual family members having roles. Shults even plays Krisha's son with his own name. Shults is able to place you deep inside of the skin of the Krisha, and through his masterful control, we feel all of her fears, anxieties, and self loathing. The film no less than captures what it's like to be the fuck up of the family fucking up. Only through a deep and intricate understanding of that kind of person can a filmmaker put the audience in her shoes, and that's exactly what Shults does. Never has a movie made me feel so much like I was experiencing what the protagonist was experiencing. Truly, you may come out of the theater a better, more empathetic person.

The beautiful cinematography features long tracking shots, long static shots, slow zooms, montage, all kinds of styles completely different from one another, but all of which work together seamlessly for tremendous effect. Brian McOmber's score works in the same way: it's jittery and syncopated when Krisha feels anxious towards the beginning, and more luscious and full during emotional scenes towards the end. Through the editing we see how she thinks or how she plays back a recent conversation in her head through her personal filter. When the editing is disjointed, time blends together to create the mental state of Krisha, and the emotional impact can be devastating. Every artistic choice from every area of production is perfectly orchestrated to make the audience feel the pain and disorder Krisha feels, even if that's something they've never experienced before.

Of course, the film wouldn't be what it is without Krisha Fairchild, who plays Krisha. Her performance is unreal in its authenticity. It's a performance with all the anxiety of Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream or Essie Davis in The Babadook, but without all the sweating and screaming. Fairchild doesn't need to do that to show us that she's messed up, all she needs to do is show us how she's human. As absent of likable traits as her character is, we are meant to empathize with her, even to go beyond empathy into complete understanding- maybe not of what she's been through, but how it feels to be her in these moments. We feel what it's like to be a victim of one's own past, of addiction, of anxieties, and of one's self, trapped in a body and a circumstance that is impossible to escape from.

The film acts as a love letter to Krisha and others like her. This movie is their hug, and after watching it, you'll know why they need one. Krisha has no achievements or qualities that make us like her, but Shults shows us that we don't need any of that to empathize with her. We just need to know what it feels like to be her, and that's what this film achieves. Just like the audience, Krisha's family sees little reason to have her around at times, and she may be a burden, but they love her and hope for her best. Krisha's low self esteem blinds her to this truth, and it's heartbreaking as an audience member to see the love people unconditionally have for her, and for her not to recognize it.

This movie was an unforgettable little miracle that puts you on an emotional roller coaster. It's only March, but this is certain to be one of the year's very best films.