Capturing the age where you have just left university or school and you’re about to be flung out into the world with nothing but a piece of paper to say what you’ve achieved from the last few years is daunting. You look around at everyone else and they seem to be getting it together. They have a flat, relationship, job offers if not a job already and all you can look forward to is going back to your parents’ house, back to your old room and the what seems like the endless search for a career. This is all ten times worse if you really have no idea what you want. Shiva Baby encapsulates this horrific feeling of inadequacy perfectly as well managing to include heightened anxiety inducing sequences and situations. It’s definitely a film that sits apart from the rest of the films out there right now.
Danielle, a college senior about to graduate is in a sexual relationship with an older man, Max, her sugar daddy. After seeing Max one day she rushes to meet her parents at a shiva where she runs into Max, his wife and baby daughter. Throughout the awkward exchanges with numerous relatives and friends in the community, Danielle tries to stay calm and keep her secret as well as the mess that is her life, from falling apart. She also sees her ex, Maya at the shiva, who doesn’t exactly help the current situation.
As a directorial feature debut Emma Seligman, who also wrote the screenplay, captures the essence of the character of Danielle to the point we know almost everything about this young woman. Not just from her interactions with others but her demeanour and expressions through the shiva. Comedies, with a darker edge, that are usually set up like this story often descend into madness but thankfully there is not such over blown breakdown, no huge climax bringing everything to a head. Not only does the story and characters feel relatable, but place these characters at another function, family gathering, occasion and you can image yourself in Danielle’s position of feeling trapped and hopeless.
There are quite a few themes throughout that aren’t expanded and are touched upon, which, in this setting, makes far more sense, being that the story spans (roughly) the same length of the actual film. The feeling that everything is condensed adds to the heightened anxiety and claustrophobic nature of the film. The score creates a blissfully horrific undertone throughout, turning normal conversations into some of the most painful interactions. If there was one downside to the entire film it’s that Danielle is seen as ‘the bad apple’ because she was taking money from Max, even though he happily gave it to her. Yet Max failed to mention his wife, his child, the fact that the money was actually his wife’s and that the Soho flat wasn’t where he lived. He lays guilt on to her midway through the film but Max is not called up on about his transgressions, which seems unfair.
Danielle’s bisexuality is commented on but not delved into depth, the obscurity about her degree and what she studies as well as what she wants a job in and the financial agreement between Max and Danielle all adds to the over whelmed atmosphere that there is so much going on beneath Danielle’s surface. The relationship between her an Maya is pieced together through shared moments until the final shot gesture which gives hope that Danielle will have stability and certainty.