Sabastian AstleyShiva Baby is playing in UK cinemas for one night only on June 9th, alongside a special Q&A and streaming on MUBI from June 11th.
★★★★
Film is kept alive by new visions and voices. With every generation, there is a rise and explosion of talent, decorating the ancient walls of cinemas with a bold, creative flair. These visionaries can be slow burners of talent, working their way to the ground-breaking piece that sets them apart. There are also those who explode onto the scene with such a dazzling debut that you’re encapsulated by its white-hot magnificence. Emma Seligman is one of those explosive visionaries.
Seligman takes us on a day in the life of sugar baby Danielle (Rachel Sennott), fresh from an appointment with her client to the shiva of a mother’s husband’s nephew’s friend once removed. It’s one of those family occasions when everyone gets together, but only about 10 people actually know what’s happening. Soon after arriving, things go haywire for Danielle, as her client Max (Danny Defarrari) is also in attendance at the funeral alongside her old flame Maya (Molly Gordon).
Once Seligman picks up the pace, she does not slow down. This gigantic Shiva is Danielle’s claustrophobic cage as Seligman’s camera pushes against her, magnifying her every nervous tick and sweat bead. We’re anchored to Danielle like a cinematic weight she’s unable to detach, forced to navigate us through the familial clusterfuck of body critiques, future plan questions and boring small talk. This cinematographic interrogation is heightened by the precision of framing and colouring; orange flames trickle up the wall surrounding Danielle, her overwhelming stress slowly cooking her alive.
Mind-numbing blurs of agitation and stress-induced confusion abound. They constantly seep into Danielle’s vision as her problems form into a monolith that leans on her, sapping her energy. With an Uncut Gems twitchiness that never stops, there’s an anxious heartbeat to Shiva Baby, pulsating louder and louder, blood flowing as fast as Danielle’s wine into her cup as her situation heats up like a social pressure cooker, moments from popping its lid.
Sennott’s reactive chemistry is intoxicating, whether it be her fiercely awkward bisexual energy with Maya or her chaotic back-and-forth with Max. Remarkably expressive through a simple casting of gazes or the ever-so-subtle anxious movements as her private and family lives begin to merge into one, she’s constantly on a knife edge. Pulling off such a deadpan humour whilst remaining charmingly endearing is tricky, yet Sennott makes it look like a second nature. She could go toe-to-toe with Aubrey Plaza any day.
It’s an excellent marriage of skilled performance and intelligent characterisation, with Danielle, in ways, a cypher for Seligman herself, being both Jewish and bisexual. It’s also great to see some genuine bisexual representation. Being bisexual myself, the awkward flirty fighting that Maya and Danielle engage is relatable, both too stubborn to admit their feelings toward one another unless absolutely compelled to. The two are so charming in their refusal to admit the white-hot flame is still very much burning in them both.
Shiva Baby has such a self-confident oeuvre that it’s difficult to believe this is Seligman’s debut. The orchestral strings combined with her claustrophobic camera feel like such creative masterstrokes; Seligman’s ultra-fine directing makes filmmaking look deceptively easy. It’s a vivid depiction of the generational tone of the current zeitgeist, with its perfect mixture of self-deprecation and creeping anxiety. Danielle’s attempt at premature adulthood is a comforting acknowledgement that trying so hard to be an adult and staying on top of everything can be exhausting, and sometimes, you just need to realise what you actually need and who you actually need.
