His Three Daughters (2023) Review: Grief in One Apartment

Is His Three Daughters worth watching?

Yes. His Three Daughters is a small, precise and often surprisingly funny drama about grief, built around three superb performances that make a single New York apartment feel like a battlefield. Azazel Jacobs trusts his actors completely, and Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olsen and Natasha Lyonne repay that trust with some of their best work. The reservation is its deliberately confined, talk-heavy form, which some viewers will find more theatrical than cinematic.

What is His Three Daughters about?

An elderly father is dying at home in his New York apartment, and his three adult daughters gather to keep vigil. Katie (Carrie Coon), the eldest, arrives with lists and opinions, determined to take charge. Christina (Elizabeth Olsen), gentler and eager to keep the peace, has travelled in, leaving her own young family behind. Rachel (Natasha Lyonne), who has been living with their father and caring for him, retreats into weed, sports betting and wry deflection, and resents her sisters’ sudden presence.

Confined to the apartment as the days stretch on, the three circle one another, arguing over paperwork, care decisions and old wounds, while trying to work out what they still mean to one another. Jovan Adepo appears in a supporting role.

His Three Daughters is an American drama in English, written and directed by Jacobs, whose earlier films include The Lovers and French Exit. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023.

Three actors, three kinds of grief

The film’s pleasure lies in watching three very different performers bounce off one another. Coon gives Katie a brittle, controlling energy, but lets the audience glimpse the fear driving it; her long, pointed speeches are both funny and painful. Olsen, often the peacemaker, plays Christina with a sweetness that gradually reveals its own frustrations.

Lyonne is the film’s secret weapon. Her Rachel is prickly, sardonic and seemingly detached, yet she carries a depth of feeling that the others underestimate. Her scenes, often retreating from the apartment’s tension, give the film some of its most touching moments. Together, the three create a completely convincing sibling dynamic, built on history that is suggested rather than explained.

A stage-like drama with cinematic precision

Jacobs keeps the film almost entirely inside the apartment, and the confinement is the point. Narrow hallways, closed doors and the constant presence of the father’s room create a sense of pressure that mirrors the sisters’ emotional state. Framing and blocking do much of the work, isolating characters in doorways or bringing them into uneasy proximity.

The dialogue is sharp and naturalistic, full of overlapping resentments and inside jokes, and it finds humour in the absurd rituals that surround a death in the family. The film also makes a bold formal choice late on, which some viewers will find moving and others jarring; either way, it shows a filmmaker willing to take risks within a modest frame.

When the four walls close in

The film’s strengths are also its limits. Its talky, stage-like approach means there is little visual variety, and viewers who prefer drama expressed through action may find it static. Some of the sisters’ conflicts follow familiar patterns for this kind of family story, and the film’s quiet, low-key rhythm can feel slow in the middle stretch. It is a film that asks for patience and attention, and does not reward distracted viewing.

Who should watch His Three Daughters?

It is a strong choice for viewers who love actor-driven drama, films about family and grief, and dialogue-heavy chamber pieces. Anyone who has cared for a dying parent may find it painfully recognisable, so it is worth choosing the moment carefully. There is strong language and drug use, but nothing graphic. It is best watched with full attention rather than as background viewing.

Our closest matches share its focus on tension within a confined group:

• 12 Angry Men, the classic single-room drama in which argument and character do all the work.
• The Godfather, a vastly different genre, but the definitive American story of siblings redefining themselves as their father’s hold weakens.

The verdict

His Three Daughters is a modest, beautifully acted drama that finds humour, anger and tenderness in the ordinary crisis of a father’s final days. Its confined form will not suit everyone, but Coon, Olsen and Lyonne make it a moving showcase for ensemble acting.

Rating: 4.1/5