Shiva Baby

Cramped rooms. No air. No place to catch a breath, Your pulse is pounding in your ears. Your stress levels are through the roof. "Are people looking at me? Yup, they are and me staring back at them is making them look harder." Your head is spinning. The bad vibes are lashing off you. The door is just there. If you can get out you'll be fine. Please don't let anyone get between me and fresh air.

Sound familiar? Don't watch Shiva Baby. Or do if you want to punish yourself. Not that it's bad mind you. Nope, it's really good.

Shiva is the Jewish ritual of mourning. It takes place over 7 days following a death and it's supposed to help families through their loss by being surrounded by family and friends and accepting comfort and strength from them. It's a lot of time to spend in close quarters with people though, especially if you come from an intertwined community where everyone is connected to everyone else. College student Danielle (Rachel Sennott) finds this out painfully when she's sitting shiva for a family friend and bumps into Max (Danny Deferrari), the man she's sleeping with for money who's there with a wife and child she didn't know existed. Also there is her ex-girlfriend Maya (Molly Gordon) who's loved and doted on by everyone in the house. To make things worse her parents are putting pressure on her to choose a career post college and somehow she's lost her phone. A phone with some very private details on it.

Shiva Baby is described on IMDB as a comedy but it's more like a big ol' bag of anxiety with a couple of laughs mixed in for leavening. A 77 minute long, real time glimpse at a ritual most people will never experience that looks at Jewish culture, sex work, familial pressure and bisexuality in a real and honest way. You never get a minute to breath, you're with Danielle throughout, seeing everything from her POV as innocent glances become accusing stares, simple conversations turn into probing interrogations and the layout of a house transforms into a food filled labyrinth that's seemingly impossible to escape. Add in a nightmarish soundscape and ....... fuckin hell, it's a rare comedy that will leave you holding your breath throughout.

Rachel Sennott is an amazing lead. Forever stressed but hiding it well until the cracks start to appear and widen. Her utterly believable interactions with her clumsy but well meaning father Joel (Fred Melamed) will make you laugh/moan/cringe in that "yup, I've been there more times than I care to count" kind of way and seconds later a turn into the wrong room as her creating astonishing tension with a simple "hmmm". She's a walking identity crisis, hiding both sides of her sexuality from an old fashioned older generation. It's constantly playing on her mind and director Emma Seligman's depiction of a sliver of her life is impossible to look away from. Yes, it does feel slightly overstuffed due to the brief running time and on more than one occasion you might be reminded of the more farcical bottle episodes of certain sitcoms but it's all so carefully woven together by a committed cast that you won't care a bit.

Shiva Baby is streaming online now and showing in selected Irish cinemas. It's a cutting slice of social commentary that may be too stressful for some but stick with it for an tale that will leave your imagination in a happy place.