Review of The Humans (2021) by Tvjerry — 25 Nov 2021

This title could be pretentious or mundane, but in this case, it’s both. The parents (Richard Jenkins Jayne Houdyshell) come to share Thanksgiving dinner with their daughter (Beanie Feldstein) and her new beau (Steven Yeun) in their grubby Chinatown apartment.

Toss in the sister (Amy Schumer) and grandma (June Squibb) for the entire cast. This is not a typical dysfunctional family drama, although there’s some  of that. Instead of a cogent narrative focus, there are small moments that focus on various combinations of characters and their issues.

Writer/director Stephen Karam adapted this from his 2016 Broadway play and chose some unusual cinematic techniques, including camera setups that either show the scene from another room or obscure the characters that are speaking, depriving us of close-ups and sabotaging any emotional power.

There are also lingering shots of the decaying apartment, which I’m assuming is supposed to reflect the rot in their relationships. At least Karam chose a cast that inhabits their roles with a natural rhythm, which works for this quietly observational drama.