By: Andrew Wing

Shiva Baby is a 2020 comedy film written and directed by Emma Seligman. An international co-production of the United States and Canada, the film stars Rachel Sennott (Ayo and Rachel Are Single) as Danielle, a directionless young bisexual Jewish woman who attends a shiva with her parents, Joel and Debbie, who are portrayed by Fred Melamed (A Serious Man, Hail, Caesar!) and Polly Draper (mother of young actors Nat and Alex Wolff) respectively. Other attendees include her successful ex-girlfriend Maya, who is played by Molly Gordon (Booksmart, Good Boys), and her sugar daddy Max (Danny Deferrari) with his wife Kim, played by Dianna Agron (I Am Number Four), and their screaming baby. It also features Jackie Hoffman, Deborah Offner, Rita Gardner, and Sondra James in supporting roles.

The events of the film take place almost entirely in real-time and at one location as Danielle explores her romantic and career prospects under the intense watch of her family, friends, and judgmental neighbors.

Adapted from Seligman’s own 2018 short of the same name, Shiva Baby premiered online at the 2020 South by Southwest film festival, while its first public screenings were at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was released in theaters and streaming on April 2, 2021.

THE GOOD

Talk about a film that flew under my radar. It was added to HBO Max a few months back and after doing some research and after seeing all the accolades it was receiving from film festivals and critics associations, I went ahead and added it to my list! However, as jam-packed as the last couple months of 2021 were with the awards-contender level films, I didn’t get to it until now, but boy was it worth the wait!

I really enjoyed this film! Right from the start, I was vibing with it as I instantly became a fan of the lead character, Danielle. Maybe it’s because I am around the same age as Danielle is in the film and also because I am starting to go through some of the things her character is enduring in the film. Things such as finishing up college and looking toward life after college, which is pretty stressful, to say the least. Or maybe it’s simply because of the performance we get from Rachel Sennott as Danielle. She absolutely crushed this role and I was blown away by how good she was with this being only her second feature film role. She just brought so much to her character and she made her feel so real. It’s no surprise that she is already getting attached to some bigger projects coming soon, such as an upcoming A24 slasher film titled Bodies, Bodies, Bodies that is currently filming. Let’s just say she has a very bright future ahead of her!

Obviously, Rachel Sennott was the standout in this, but the whole cast was freaking great if you ask me. Danielle’s parents were so funny as they continually made Danielle feel uncomfortable at the shiva by talking about her future and how she has all these great opportunities lined up for, and that just wouldn’t have been the case if it weren’t for the actors portraying them, Fred Melamed and Polly Draper. I was familiar with Melamed, but this was the first time I had ever seen Draper, and I loved her performance in this. Those two were just perfectly cast and they brought so much to the film. Another performance that needs to be mentioned is that of Molly Gordon who plays the ex-girlfriend. She is quickly becoming a name to keep an eye out for when it comes to supporting actresses in comedy films after both Booksmart and Good Boys (two great films), and obviously this. Her comedic delivery is so good and it seems when watching that it just comes so naturally to her. She is another one to keep an eye out for down the road!

The performances in this were fantastic, but the movie would be nothing without the direction from Emma Seligman. It is just bonkers that this is her feature directorial debut. It is even more bonkers when you realize she is only 26! She better win some awards for best first film, that’s all I’ll say. She also wrote the screenplay for the film, and I absolutely loved it! The movie is a comedy, and it definitely delivers some hilarious moments, but it also was very dramatic at times. Seligman did an excellent job at drawing up the tension at key times throughout the film, and that says a lot about the director considering the film takes place almost entirely in real-time at one location. I was just blown away by her direction for this. Period.

Lastly, I loved the film’s representation of both bisexual and Jewish people. It’s great to see the progress being made in the film industry, and hopefully, it keeps moving in the right direction so that things like this just become commonplace. Yes, it represents both of those groups I mentioned, but it is also a very accessible and easy film to watch and enjoy for people like me, who are not a member of said groups. I also can’t forget to shout out the musical score we got here from Ariel Marx. The score almost felt like something you’d get in a horror film as it effectively conveyed this sort-of anxiety-inducing claustrophobia if that makes sense.

THE BAD

I am going to have to stop referring to myself as a critic if I continue to not actually criticize the films I review, but I guess I just keep lucking out with good ones. There is nothing wrong with this film in my opinion. The only, and I mean the only thing you could say is that the film is really short with only a 78-minute runtime. But at the same time, it is most definitely a low-budget indie film and it also didn’t feel rushed at any point throughout. Every storyline wrapped up nicely in my book and I loved the ending to this!

THE VERDICT

Emma Seligman’s feature film debut Shiva Baby is just awesome. It takes place over the course of a single anxiety-filled day and it is both hilarious and extremely tense at the same time. Seligman’s screenplay is strong as it captures the behaviors of all the characters in a short runtime and also shines a light on the bisexual and Jewish communities. Also, all the performances were great, but Rachel Sennott takes the cake as she plays the lead character, Danielle.