‘Father Mother Sister Brother’ Review: Jim Jarmusch’s Family Affair is an Uneven Triptych of Ties that Bind [C+] Venice
Jim Jarmusch is known for his often quiet, contemplative and meditative films that have a lot to say without actually saying much. The enigmatic beauty of his films is that in their most quiet moments, we get to observe characters’ internal fears and turmoil without them having to utter long monologues or partake in lengthy, showy scenes to articulate their emotions in words. With few exceptions in his filmography, Jarmusch’s films have been niche offerings, attracting the arthouse crowd who has enough patience to invest in challenging, less straightforward films.
With Father Mother Sister Brother, Jarmusch offers a fairly more accessible and commercial film than some of his prior works, blending moments of comedy with subtle dramatic subtexts to offer an entertaining, if a bit slight and forgettable, film. Far from his strongest works, it still manages to be enjoyable for the most part thanks to a strong ensemble performance by some of the best actors working today.
The challenge with anthology films, or in the case of this one a triptych, is that they tend to offer inconsistent viewing experiences if not all those disconnected stories are equally compelling – and that’s certainly the case here. The trio of stories range of amusing to entertaining to somewhat flat, resulting in a film that is both fascinating and uninteresting.
Just as the title suggests, ‘Father’ is the first standalone story set in the US in which we follow two siblings (Adam Driver and Mayim Bialik) driving up north to meet their eccentric father (wonderfully played by Tom Waits). Their memories of him are not too pleasant – they always knew he was crazy and distant – and they seem to be carrying out the visit as some sort of formality rather than actually looking forward to it. This portion of the film relies on long moments of awkward silence to offer a take on how familial connections can be alienating and cumbersome. As the son and daughter sit in silence in their father’s living room, exchanging mundane small talk and finding nothing much to share or say, the silence says it all. They are not just disconnected; they have in fact drifted so much apart to a point of no return. That is indeed confirmed as we follow the rest of the Father’s Day after his children depart: we see him enjoying the relief of being on his own again, as though a burden had just been lifted off his shoulders. Loneliness isn’t necessarily a bad thing – especially if we can’t be ourselves in the presence of others.
The film’s most interesting – and entertaining – portion is the second of the three stories, ‘Mother’, which follows two sisters making a once-per-year trip to their mother’s elegant house in London for some quality tea time. The mother, a controlling figure played wonderfully by Charlotte Rampling, is content with seeing her girls just once a year, and that’s certainly a source of relief for the siblings (Cate Blanchett and Vicky Krieps) who couldn’t be further apart: one of them is wild and outgoing, while the other seems to be a version of her reserved mother. Family time, disguised as tea time, is a chore for both of them, and just like what happens in the first story, silence is deafening, with the sounds of cups and spoons filling in the void of an otherwise wordless appointment.
The third and final story, ‘Brother Sister’ is the film’s least interesting, in terms of narrative and pace, and follows two siblings (Indya Moore and Luka Sabbat) attempting to grapple with their parents’ death in a plane crash. They arrive at their apartment, which will soon be leased to new tenants, and reflect on the lives they had in that space. They then head over to a storage unit to go through their parents’ belongings. As opposed to the coldness of the first two stories, this one is supposedly the film’s emotional core – but it falls flat for the most part and feels much less developed. Its purpose is to lead us to meditate on the family bonds we tend to be indifferent towards while our parents are alive, only to then lament how we miss them after they pass away, blaming life’s fast pace, and not our own disinterest, for keeping us from creating more memories with them before they vanish from our lives.
A mixed bag of black comedy, social commentary and characters with varying degrees of depth and appeal, this is a film that will have its fans but its detractors would surely have hoped for much more than being mildly amused.
Grade: C+
This review is from the 2025 Venice Film Festival where Father Mother Sister Brother had its world premiere. The film will be released theatrically in the U.S. by MUBI.
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