Krisha

"I have earned a right to be at this table."

“Krisha” is a 2015 drama/addict film that follows a woman named, straightforwardly, Krisha, who is a (supposed) recovered addict attempting to reconcile with her entire family during Thanksgiving, only to have past demons unravel as everybody becomes involved in an intense familial reckoning.

Although, it isn’t fair to call “Krisha” an addict film, because, while it does follow an addict as the main character, it just does so many things differently. Actually, it didn’t take me long to figure this out, since as soon as the strangely violent-looking red-colored “Krisha” title card came onscreen, I knew I was about to delve into something a whole lot more than initially expected.

The film was initially shown at the SXSW film festival, but was swiftly picked up by the amazing film company A24 for widespread release. The thing about this, though, is the fact that it was initially screened at a film festival; put plainly, “Krisha” is home-brewed. The director, Trey Edward Shults, not only wrote the film, but starred in it himself: many of his unprofessional-acting family members played other parts, too. The film is, without revealing too much, tightly packed in the best way possible.

And about those actors: not only for unfamiliar actors, but even for trained and professional actors, are they good. For just being relatives of the director, all of them did a magnificent job, and especially Krisha herself, where you can tell a thousand emotions in just her eyes alone (her face is the deliberate subject of a good portion of the film’s shots).

However, one thing I couldn’t help but adore about “Krisha” is what goes on under the surface itself: rawness, authenticity, style, and, above all, substance fill up the entire film, making it a uniquely satisfying experience. It just pulses ideas, and that’s one of the best things a film can have.

I have but only one small flaw with “Krisha:” some of the more obvious filming tricks are fairly obvious, and a good example of this is the very first scene (not counting the close-up). In the scene, Krisha walks from her car to a person’s door, turns around, walks to the next house, and then arrives at the right residence. Sure, this showcases the actress’s (who, by the way, is Krisha Fairchild) talent, but it’s the type of showcase opening we’ve seen before. The shot comes right before it, though, slightly excuses it (and note that I’m not talking about just this scene when it comes to filmmaking tricks).

8.5/10- Raw, closely knit, and completely unnerving, “Krisha” is an undoubtedly honest and blistering journey from start to finish.