Review: Father Mother Sister Brother

Image courtesy of MUBI.

"Father Mother Sister Brother" is a Jim Jarmusch film that is stripped down to its bare elements. The picture is a triptych of three stories involving children and parents, and what one takes from the material probably depends on what one is willing to give to it. This is not a film that provides easy answers and in each of the three scenarios, it feels as if we are being dropped into the middle of complex relationships but without all of the necessary information.

The first segment involves two aging siblings - Jeff (Adam Driver) and Emily (Mayim Bialik) - who are visiting their estranged father (Tom Waits), who lives along a secluded, but scenic, pond somewhere on the East Coast. We get the sense that Jeff occasionally sees his father, mostly to help out with repairs to his old house, but that Emily rarely does. This first chapter is comprised of the three characters attempting to share pleasantries and not delve much further to the point of being awkward.

Of the three chapters, this one is the funniest, despite its stark nature. At one point, Emily asks her father if he is taking any drugs - meaning medications - and he ends up rattling off a list of all the recreational ones that he's given up over the years. There's a feeling that Jeff's assistance with financial matters is helping his father to stay afloat - but there's a punchline at the end of this segment that is among the film's most memorable moments.

In the second chapter, two sisters living in Dublin - Timothea (Cate Blanchett) and Lilith (Vicky Krieps) - have their annual tea party with their mother (Charlotte Rampling), a seemingly accomplished novelist who doesn't like to talk about her work with her daughters and who appears to be somewhat demanding. Timothea seems to share a closer bond with the mother - who praises her daughter's promotion - while Lilith seems to be some sort of influencer whose descriptions of her own life appear to be somewhat fabricated. There's a great shot in which a vase of flowers placed on the table obscures each of the characters from each other's view, representing their estrangement from one another.

If in the first section, awkwardness prevailed during the trio's conversation, tension is more present in this one. Lilith, clearly bullshitting about the fabulous car she owns (which is not seen; her friend gives her a ride to her mother's house) and the lifestyle she leads, gets scolded at one point by her mother for using her iPhone at the tea table. Each of the three characters seem to be navigating what they should or shouldn't say to upset the apple cart during the gathering.

In the third section, a pair of siblings - Skye (Indya Moore) and Billy (Luka Sabbat) - with American parents who were raised in Paris return to their parents' apartment after the two of them were killed in a plane crash to wrap up some details. Billy has already transferred all of their parents' belongings to a storage facility. They reminisce on memories of their upbringing and, while searching their parents' belongings, learn some new things about their family.

Curiously, there are elements that repeat in each of the three sections. At least one character in the three sections is wearing a Rolex watch, which is noticed by another character. A character or two pauses to watch as skateboarders - in slow motion - ride by on the street in all three sections. Several of the characters are wearing matching outfits - in the first section, they all have something maroon on, while in the second section they laugh about having matching red clothing.

In each section, a character says that you can't toast with a specific liquid - in the first, it's water; then tea, and finally coffee. The British phrase, "And then your uncle's Bob" - which basically means "and there you have it" - is spoken by a character in each section, though the line is bungled at least once.

Jarmusch leaves it to the viewer to decide what this all means. Each story is about families that are estranged - or, in the case of the siblings - left in the dark somewhat about their parents' past. The three stories are simple in nature - as usual, characters are given to reflective moments of silence, as one might expect in a Jarmusch film - and don't have much in the way of plot. But they all hint at something deeper beneath the surface.

While "Father Mother Sister Brother" isn't my favorite Jarmusch film of recent years - that honor would belong to the wonderful "Paterson," which also starred Driver - it's a quiet, reflective, often surprisingly funny, and even a bit elusive film about the mysteries of the family structure. Characters aren't quite who they seem to be and awkward silences say a lot more than the strained dialogue they occasionally spout. This is an interesting film for those in the mood for something contemplative and slightly mysterious in nature.