'Father Mother Sister Brother' Marks Homecoming for Jarmusch

This October, I attended the New York Film Festival (NYFF) in New York City, one of the year’s most anticipated events for movie lovers. Among the lineup, Jim Jarmusch's Father Mother Sister Brother stood out. After a six-year feature hiatus – his latest being The Dead Don't Die  – Jarmusch returns to the director’s chair with a film both down-to-earth and introspective, rekindling the subtle humor and humanity that mark his best work.

In signature Jarmusch style (see also: Night on Earth, Coffee and Cigarettes and Mystery Train), the film is structured as an anthology, using three distinct families to examine the forms that connection and distance can take.

In "Father", Adam Driver and Mayim Bialik play Jeff and Emily, siblings driving to visit their aging father, played by Tom Waits. From the moment they pull into his driveway, cluttered with old car parts and eclectic memorabilia, you can sense their unease; they're not just visiting – they're doing a wellness check. Their father has hit a financial rough patch and, since their mother's passing, has relied mainly on Jeff to keep things afloat in the family. The car ride itself is awkward and familiar, filled with half-hearted attempts at small talk and worry about what state they'll find him in. Bialik and Driver converse not unlike coworkers engaging in small talk.

Tom Waits completely steals the show in this story. His performance is a perfect blend of bitterness and charm, evoking both comedic and somber tones. He strikes a balance between his roles as a gruff, curmudgeonly father and a stylish widower who still cares about how he presents himself. The humor is dry and borderline uncomfortable at times, but it lands because it feels real. 

The second story, and my personal favorite, centers on British sisters Timothea (Cate Blanchett) and Lilith (Vicky Krieps), who return home for their mother's (Charlotte Rampling) annual tea party. Set in an ornate townhouse, the scene unravels with polite smiles and intense self-consciousness. Every clink of a teacup and carefully chosen word hints at a greater elephant in the room. 

Blanchett plays Timothea with a masterful mix of control and quiet panic, while Krieps's Lilith undercuts the tension with droll deliveries and unexpected bursts of comedic relief. Out of all of the vignettes, the second one has the most pleasant feel to it. It could be the beautiful setting and the impeccable mise en scene, or the fact that the dynamics between the actors work very well. 

The film concludes with "Sister Brother," a vignette about twins Skye (Indya Moore) and Billy (Luka Sabbat), who reconnect after their parents pass away. They return to their home in Paris, where they reminisce about the city and the apartment they grew up in one last time. 

Admittedly, the dynamic between the two actors feels much more romantic than sibling-like; Moore's character often caresses her brother in ways that seem inappropriate for their relationship. Perhaps it's because I don't have a twin or a particularly close bond with any of my brothers, but this dynamic sometimes made me cringe. What's intended to reveal a deep twin connection ends up more disconcerting and plain confusing.

This part of the film also runs longer than necessary. When the music fades and you think it's about to end, another scene begins. It feels like Jarmusch wanted to end on a mysterious note, but the vignette loses steam halfway through. Compared to the other two stories, Sister Brother lacks the same charm that tends to make Jarmusch's portraits so eerily nostalgic.

Father Mother Sister Brother is a film that instantly clicks as a film in the Jarmusch canon  – quiet, bizarre, and full of small character moments that linger after the credits roll. Even when one story stumbles, his unparalleled tone never fades. It's refreshing to see Jarmusch's big screen return come out to be something so personal, even if it's uneven. The film captures the humor and tenderness that come inherent to family, as well as how feelings of love and distance can coexist within one.

Father Mother Sister Brother will be released by Mubi beginning December 24.

-Sophie