Krisha

**Spoiler Alert**

Director: Trey Edward Shults/Starring: Krisha Fairchild, Trey Edward Shults, Bill Wise and Olivia Grace Applegate

Krisha; the first feature film by writer/director Trey Edward Shults, is a dark, disturbing, character study that allows us to form an indelible impression of its subject with minimal dialogue and change of setting. Shults' film creates a movingly tragic portrait of a woman whose troubled past has made the present a terrible nightmare. The story and characterizations are crafted with economy and precision but in spite of its appropriately slim 83 minute running time, Shults' film seems quite complete.

The opening scenes are memorable for what they forebode and how they establish character and setting. The very first shot is of a white-haired woman's face as she stares directly into the camera. Her scared, anxious expression and baggy eyes leave the audience puzzled and unnerved. Shortly thereafter, we see the same woman in a tracking shot as she tromps through suburban yards in search of a particular house; her dog and luggage in tow. When she finds the correct residence, she is welcomed inside by a sizeable group of people, presumably family. The woman; Krisha (Krisha Fairchild, in a superlative performance), is greeted warmly by the those inside as the camera pans the room to show us the various family members while discordant music plays on the soundtrack. The harsh, strident, score reflects something dangerous and imbalanced in Krisha's presence; perhaps a troubled state of mind or something terrible to come. But what? Who is this woman who can set the audience on edge when we know nothing about her?

After securing lodging within the house, we see Krisha open a box with a label on its cover to discourage curiosity. Inside it we see bottles of pills and sundry items. She quickly opens one of the bottles and downs some of the contents. Does she have a drug dependency? If the pills are health-related, what precisely is she suffering from? Or are the pills psychotropic? Shults leaves us with many questions.

As Krisha interacts with the large gathering, she takes on the labor-intensive task of cooking a turkey for what is presumably Thanksgiving. As she painstakingly prepares the turkey and fixings, we also see her interact with her sister, what are most likely young nephews and brothers-in-law. All seems fairly normal until she asks one of the young men to join her for a private conversation; to "catch-up" on things. From his body language and reluctance to chat, we intuit a mother/son relationship that is anything but happy. This is confirmed in later scenes as Krisha eavesdrops on her son, Trey (Trey Edward Shults) and an uncle, who offers him fatherly advice, which denies her participation. We begin to see other disturbing signs of Krisha' frail, mental health as she surreptitiously searches through bureau drawers.

Conversations between herself and a brother-in-law seem amicable but are less so later when he makes not-so-friendly comments about her past behavior. While the family interacts and plays together, we see Krisha steal away to take her pills and later, as her son goes to lengths to avoid her and her family keeps her at a cautious arms-length, she slowly becomes unhinged. Confiscating a bottle of wine, it becomes apparent her alcoholic past has been her bane and the wrecking-ball of her relationships.

The family dinner is where Krisha suffers a total collapse; first dropping the turkey on the kitchen floor in a booze-fueled mishap then confronting the family at the table; accusing her sister of turning her son against her, which results in her dismissal from the table. The coup de grace comes when her son disowns her.

By the final frame, which reprises the first shot, we have a fairly complete picture of Krisha's life and failures and can easily ascertain the particulars of her future, which is decidedly grim.

I like the way Shults' film takes its time; doling out information slowly; forcing the audience to piece Krisha's life together from her relationships as the story unfolds.

A good challenge for a filmmaker is to make a compelling drama in one location; a house with fixed array of characters. Shults manages to keep the audience on edge; we feel almost certain Krisha will have a violent episode, but we're never sure to whom it will be directed or if it will claim a victim. She is a ticking time bomb and a frightening one at that. Repeated private calls to a boyfriend tells of another failed relationship, which contributes to her spiral.

Krisha Fairchild, who I understand is the director's real-life mother, digs deep into her character; opening Krisha's insides to show us a weak, failed mother; failed everything who has little hope of salvaging a satisfying life or overcoming her addiction. As a sixty-something trying to convince herself of her stability, we can see defeat is a more certain course. Fairchild's performance is brave and tough without a mitigating moment of sentimentality.

It would be difficult to walk away from Shults' film feeling hopeful but the truth rarely spares our feelings. That's what Krisha does; it serves us the truth about a woman's life and doesn't compromise the film's power with a last minute petition for emotional affirmations. It's tragic and not easy to watch but it doesn't lie.