“So, you’ve been good, right?” It’s the primary line in “His Three Daughters,” the primary line I wrote, and what we started with on Day 1 of filming. It’s delivered by Carrie Coon, who I had in thoughts whereas writing for Katie, certainly one of three sisters the story revolves round. Katie doesn’t anticipate a solution, launching right into a page-and-a-half diatribe in opposition to her sibling. I pictured beginning with this sister in opposition to a white wall, giving us no sense of placement, with no opening credit. I wished it to really feel shocking, like when dying arrives, irrespective of how anticipated it could be.
I used to be 19 after I first misplaced somebody shut, and one response was of utmost anger at motion pictures. I felt utterly lied to. There was no rewind, no sluggish movement, no music. This individual had simply gone. What’s extra, the ache didn’t a lot go away because it grew to become one thing to stay with, shifting because the absence grew to become ever extra concrete. This stayed in my ideas as I sat all the way down to discover my expertise of loss on the web page. I wished some approach to admit the shortcoming of the medium but in addition embrace the fantasy I so desired. A future with out my mother and father was one thing I couldn’t management, however in movie, I may.
Katie’s opening monologue spilled out and set me free. I had lengthy created characters who stored their ideas and grievances to themselves, just for these feelings to bubble up in methods they couldn’t articulate. With Katie, it was all being expressed. Questions adopted: Who is that this tirade geared toward? What occurred to get right here? They have been vacation spot factors I wished to discover.
Feelings run excessive as three siblings collect to be with their father as he’s dying in “His Three Daughters.”
(Netflix)
I had a selected rhythm in thoughts, and the directness of Katie’s phrases was adopted by one thing a bit sing-song. Christina is performed by Elizabeth Olsen, whom I additionally wrote for within the hope she would come on board. Picturing her pressured me to dig deeper, assured that she may discover the stability between the humor and the ache if I may converse to it. Within the opening, Christina says she got here from afar, nonetheless jet-lagged, which she blames for her present emotional state. However to me, it additionally hinted to somebody probably in contact along with her emotions. Who could have turn into self-reliant in a method her siblings had not.
I used to be embracing theatrics in life, the characters we forged ourselves as, particularly with household. Position-playing is one thing I witnessed in these end-of-life moments, even in myself. I’ve turn into very totally different individuals, typically inside the identical day. This inner battle between eager to regress and disappear, to attempt to achieve management or simply make peace and be current, may turn into a dramatic battle if every intuition was embodied by a special individual.
Sitting reverse Katie initially, and being the alternative of her, is Rachel, embodied by Natasha Lyonne. Sure, I wrote for her too. I additionally wrote for Jovan Adepo, who performs Rachel’s boyfriend, Benjy. This entire movie was an train in believing that typically hopes can come true.
Rachel is considerably primarily based on an individual I’ve been related with since stroller days, and whose household was an extension of my very own rising up. But, we’ve had very totally different lives. With Rachel, I used to be capable of play with assumptions. Picturing Natasha allowed me to play initially with a personality sort we could anticipate from her. The problem and enjoyable got here in deciding how and when to subvert this judgment.
These three totally different sisters are gathering for a similar purpose: Their father goes to move. It’s unclear precisely when, however the time is close to and it’s absolute. If all goes “well,” he’ll die within the consolation of his residence somewhat than a hospital, surrounded by his household. The title “His Three Daughters” is supposed as each a query and a solution. They might not see one another as equals, however their father does.
Between the primary lack of a cherished one after I was 19 and now, there have been numerous others, however at present it feels all over the place. Most equally aged buddies have both misplaced or are dropping their mother and father. I get that outliving mother and father is the best-case state of affairs, however nothing feels pure about it. For me, it’s been painful and complicated. The expertise of constructing “His Three Daughters” has been the alternative.
The script gave me the power to say how and when. To really feel hope together with the worry. Having these actors present up on Day 1, not solely off-book with each line however — understanding the precise tempo I had in thoughts — with each little bit of punctuation memorized, felt like my hand was being held, and the response to Katie’s, “So you’ve been good, right?” was, “Hey, we got you.”
