Father Mother Sister Brother

Jim Jarmusch returns to estrangement and deadpan tension in Father Mother Sister Brother, an anthology of three stories about dysfunctional family ties. The first chapter lands perfectly. Adam Driver and Mayim Bialik are cast brilliantly as adult siblings who are awkward with each other – distant but not estranged – as they drive through snow up an unpaved road to visit their eccentric, perpetually cash-strapped father (Tom Waits). Their brief stay in his tiny, cluttered house, complete with a leaking sink, is full of silences, stolen glances and forced politeness. Waits drifts between warmth and suspicion, hinting at secrets without ever becoming overtly sinister. The tension is small, intimate and compelling, and the performances carry it effortlessly.

The second story, set in Dublin, opens with Charlotte Rampling’s cold, repressed mother quietly preparing for her annual afternoon tea with her two daughters in her pristine townhouse. Cate Blanchett is exceptional as the high-strung elder daughter Timothea, alternating between forced, anxious cheer and moments teetering on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Vicky Krieps, as the bohemian younger daughter Lilith, is less convincing. Her pink hair, matching fur coat and exaggerated gestures suggest irreverence, but her hesitant, slow delivery robs her witty lines of their edge. One scene – where she warns her sister not to drink tap water because a podcast claims it’s contaminated with COVID and cocaine – lands flat, the joke undone by poor timing. The final segment, set in Paris, follows twins Billy (Luka Sabbat) and Skye (Indya Moore) as they wander their recently deceased parents’ empty apartment, rifling through boxes of family memorabilia. Their conversations about marriage and microdosing feel painfully unnatural, and the exaggerated, theatrical elements clash sharply with the grounded intimacy of the initial part. Recurring motifs – like teenage skateboarders racing past cars – feel arbitrary, adding little to the anthology’s sense of continuity or thematic cohesion.

Still, when Father Mother Sister Brother works, it’s unmistakably Jarmusch at his best: the first two chapters are proof of his rare ability to render contemplation and character depth without lapsing into introspection. The final act may falter, but the film’s successes linger alongside its missteps.

Christina Yang

Father Mother Sister Brother does not have a release date yet.

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