Being trapped in an awkward gathering. Discovering unpleasant facts. This is Shiva Baby.
Danielle (American actor Rachel Sennott) is a sugar baby, a secret that no one else knows. We see Danielle with Max, her sugar daddy, as she is getting ready to leave. Danielle tells Max she is going to a brunch. Well, the brunch turns out to be a shiva. While the term shiva is a bit more complicated, what we have is a gathering of people after the funeral service.
She doesn't really want to be at the shiva. Danielle runs into people she would rather avoid, like her former lover Maya (American actor Molly Gordon) and later Max. Danielle also gets to meet Max's wife Kim and screaming child. "Who brings a child to a shiva?" Turns out Kim is not Jewish.
Danielle is also confronted with various relatives asking about what she is going to do. This is troublesome for her because she isn't quite sure what she is going to do. She also has to deal with her overbearing mother Debbie and her too laid-back father Joel.
Emma Seligman talking with Tom Power on Q (CBC Radio One)
The debut by writer/director Emma Seligman is a pleasant surprise. Seligman builds tension through music and an intimacy that borders on claustrophobia. Danielle is trapped and we feel trapped with her.
Danielle gets fixated on the screaming child. She runs away from other conversations. She can't leave the house.
Seligman has some fun with the stereotypes of the older people but draws the younger people as more 3-dimensional. Chances are you will love Maya at certain points and dislike her at other points.
The intimacy is also built up because the film takes place in a span of time fewer than 12 hours.
The sugar daddy concept making its way into Canadian films
We did focus on the "sugar daddy" trend in Canadian film. Without giving too much away, Maya asks Danielle about this toward the end of the film. Danielle explains this away well in a sentence with fewer than 15 words.
The film has the sugar daddy angle but is far more substantial than using the idea as a tease to a lesser film. Yes, we are looking at you: The New Romantic.
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From what we can tell, Emma Seligman is the major Canadian content in the film. None of the major actors are Canadian. The film is shot in New York. Seligman spoke at Part III of Making the Case for Canadian Film from the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television about making the film in New York because her friends were there. She attended New York University.
We would love to see what Seligman can do with making a film in Canada with Canadians.
Shiva Baby played at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. The film has played theatrically in Canada and the United States and is currently airing on HBO Max in the United States.
video credit: YouTube/Movieclips Indie
photo credit: Shiva Baby film
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