Terms of Estrangement: Jarmusch’s Amusing Triptych on Familial Labors
If each unhappy family is unhappy in their own way, there are still a wide variety of universal parallels to eroded family bonds, at least as suggested in Father Mother Sister Brother, the latest offering from Jim Jarmusch. Testing the hollow pleasures of nostalgia through a customary tendency of an impressive ensemble cast, three separate snapshots depicting stymied reunions between adult children and their parents take place across three different countries in modern day. With a familiar wry tone, Jarmusch’s palette may arguably feel slight, but it’s a nuanced exercise examining the eventual evolution experienced between parents and children growing apart only to struggle with expected familial duties, each in their own bittersweet way.
The titles of the three separate segments seem arbitrary, like a poetic sentiment, as there is a similar, elliptical semblance of a pair of siblings confronted with a visit to aging (or deceased) parents in ways both banal and transformative. In the north-east US, a grizzled father (Tom Waits) receives Jeff (Adam Driver) and Emily (Mayim Bialik), neither of whom he has seen for the past two years. On the drive to his countryside home, they review notes about his economic struggle, with the divorced Jeff feeling it’s been his duty to assist his father financially for a laundry list of disastrous issues at home, such as a collapsing wall, a defunct septic tank, etc. Emily hasn’t been as frivolous with assistance, but they’re both anxious about the state of his health, recalling a distressing ‘episode’ from their mother’s funeral. Upon arrival, it’s clear dear old dad hasn’t really had any home improvement issues, but reality is politely ignored in favor of a fast exit.
In Dublin, a detached mother (Charlotte Rampling) prepares her home for an annual tradition of tea with her daughters Timothea (Cate Blanchett) and Lilith (Vicky Krieps). A quick phone session with her therapist prior to the visit indicates her grown daughters are as equally estranged from each other, polar opposites in their disposition. Elder daughter Timothea is bookish but more dutiful, seeming to feel a greater responsibility to behave in a way her mother expects. The younger Lilith is more of a wild child, lying through her teeth about her finances, and, it would appear, her sexual orientation. Ironically, both sisters moved to Dublin to be closer to their mother, and yet, resort to only visiting once a year for their aforementioned tea session. Their brief anniversary is so chilly it becomes inadvertently hilarious, all three women squirming under the weight of pregnant pauses between stilted smatterings of lies and platitudes.
Lastly, the most well-adjusted siblings seem to be twins Skye (Indya Moore) and Billy (Luka Sabbat), reuniting in Paris to view their deceased parents’ apartment, and their childhood home, one last time. It appears their fiercely unconventional folks died unexpectedly in a plane crash, and they reminisce fondly over childhood memories, lightly rebuked by the building manager (Françoise Lebrun) for popping up unexpectedly.
Each segment, as is Jarmusch’s fashion, has intersecting elements, including a Rolex watch (an object which takes on inherently different meaning each time), the repetition of an odd British idiom, “Bob’s your uncle,” and the revelation of significant lies and deception amongst family members who fiercely want to keep certain personal details private—even to those who supposedly know them best.
More melancholic than painful, Father Mother Sister Brother plays like the greatest thematic beats employed by Jarmusch over his forty years as an auteur. Shades of Coffee & Cigarettes (2003) and Broken Flowers (2005), which dealt similarly with investigating past relationships, feel especially prominent in comparison. And like those films, there’s an incredible novelty inherent in the cast. Jarmusch has always tended to mix iconic actors with contemporary notables, a method which feels apparent here as well in the third, most meaningful segment featuring Indya Moore and Luka Shabbat (who made his film debut in Jarmusch’s The Dead Don’t Die, 2019), which is notably distinct as it’s dealing with deceased parents who cannot be reunited with their children ever again, and suggests a completely different family dynamic compared to the incredibly estranged white families we witness before them.
But the major highlights are Waits and Rampling, the latter especially effective at withering character tics as an oblivious woman who refuses to comprehend any specific realities regarding her daughters. Waits is the opposite, a devious trickster playing a role for the financial benefit he can receive from his children. Both Mayim Bialik and Vicky Krieps are also significantly pleasurable as the younger children in their circles, both who are obviously more removed from the responsibility of performing their expected duties. Strange yet familiar, ending on a wistful note to the crooning of Anika, a favored artist of the director, the strange pain associated with not living up to the conditioned expectations of our prescribed roles is exactly what makes Father Mother Sister Brother feel poignant.
Reviewed on August 31st at the 2025 Venice Film Festival (82nd edition) – In Competition. 110 Mins
★★★/☆☆☆☆☆
