🍿#13: Shiva Baby
Lot's of death, awesome trailers, a full review of Shiva Baby and why Tom Cruise 'assassinated' his co-stars.
“Death – to blink for an exceptionally long period of time.”
~ Patch Adams, 1998
To infinity and the great beyond…
This week I want to talk about death, because Shiva Baby, which is set at a funeral, has got me thinking about all the ways death is portrayed in cinema. Unsurprinslgy, there are a lot of deaths in film - some make us cry, some make us laugh and others we barely notice.
For example, there are:
Jaw-dropping deaths (The Departed)
“Oh-no!” deaths (The Lion King)
Blaze of glory deaths (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid)
Funny deaths (Zombieland)
Sad-but-funny deaths (Little Miss Sunshine)
Sad-but-expected deaths (Marley and Me - or any dog movie)
Tragically-sad deaths (Titanic)
Tragically-romantic deaths (Romeo and Juliet)
‘They-deserved-it’ deaths (Die Hard)
‘They-didn’t-deserve-it’ deaths (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)
Almost-deaths (Toy Story 3)
Cannon fodder deaths - the deaths we don’t care about or notice, like all the stormtroopers killed throughout the Star Wars saga
This isn’t an exhaustive list, but isn’t it interesting that something so dark and ominous can be portrayed in so many ways? On the one hand, Jack’s death in Titanic has had audiences weeping for more than 20 years, whereas Hans Gruber falling from Nakatomi Plaza has had us all doing mini fist-pumps.
So this week I have a question, what’s your ‘favourite’ on-screen death? Whether it moved you to tears, ended an awesome fight scene or you’re a massive fan of Final Destination, I want to know which film fatalities really stick out in your memory and why. You can leave a comment below or tweet @_SaltyPopcorn.
As always, thanks for reading!
Let’s talk about death baby… Let us know your favourite on-screen deaths below.
Upcoming Releases
French Exit
UK: 4 June // USA: 2 April
Widowed New York socialite, Frances (Michelle Pfeiffer) and her aimless son Malcolm (Lucas Hedges) move to Paris after she spends the last of her husband's inheritance.
Freaky
UK: 2 July // USA: 13 November (2020)
When 17-year-old Millie (Kathryn Newton) is murdered by a local serial killer (Vince Vaughn) she wakes up in her murderer’s body and has just 24 hours to change back - or remain stuck as the middle-aged maniac.
Fact of the week
This week’s fact was dug out by Salty Popcorn supporter Sal, many thanks!
To prepare for his role in Collateral, Tom Cruise ‘assassinated’ cast and crew members by covertly following them around and waiting to slap a Post-it note that said: “I'm dead”.
Cruise didn’t get to choose who he ‘assassinated’ mind you, oh no - director Michael Mann put ‘hits’ on people. Apparently, Cruise would track his targets for days at a time, figuring out their routines before making his move.
Review: Shiva Baby
Star rating:
3.5 (out of 5)
Worth a watch?
Yes
Where to watch:
USA: Amazon Prime ($3.99)
UK: Mubi
Runtime:
1 hour, 18 minutes
Blurb:
Things get awkward at a Jewish funeral for college student Danielle (Rachel Sennott) when her sugar daddy and ex-girlfriend show up.
The review (NO spoilers):
Shiva Baby has to be the most edge-of-your-seat-awkward film I’ve seen this year - possibly ever. That’s not a criticism, on the contrary, Emma Seligman’s ability to make the audience feel the tension in the room is remarkable. We live Danielle’s (Sennott) embarrassment and humiliation throughout the film and experience every cringe and scowl first-hand.
Danielle’s frustration is palpable, and as every other character seems to be working against her, it’s only natural that the audience sides with her. So despite the fact that she’s moody and difficult, we can’t help but feel sympathy for her.
With ratings of 7.2/10 on IMDB, 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and 79% on Metacritic, Shiva Baby has had a positive reception from audiences and critics alike, with many reviews stating how funny it is. But is it laugh-out-loud funny? Not quite.
I think it’s important to remember, as a British viewer, that Americans do comedy differently, which is especially true with dry humour. I’m not saying it wasn’t funny, it was - I just expected it to be funnier.
This does, however, say more about my expectations than the film itself. Because at the end of the day it’s brilliantly written, fantastically cast and the performances were excellent all around - but Sennott really stole the show. To that end, I can barely fault it.
If you liked Shiva Baby…
Lady Bird
2016 | UK: Amazon Prime (£2.49) // US: Netflix
Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Saoirse Ronan), faces the ups and downs of adolescence and relationships during her senior year in high school. While this isn’t exactly like Shiva Baby, it explores similar themes - and is possibly funnier.
In the next issue:
Another Round
UK: 2 July // USA: 4 December (2020) | Watch the Trailer
The Critic’s Cut 🚨SPOILER ALERT🚨:
I didn’t expect Shiva Baby to end when it did, but I have to say I quite liked being caught off-guard and, in line with the old adage, it leaves the audience wanting more.
For me, the end scene when the key characters are trying to get in Danielle’s family van was the funniest. This might be because the overall tension of everything leading up to that point had simmered down and all that was left was the awkwardness of the situation.
It’s quite a short Critic’s Cut this week, but what can I say, at 78 minutes, Shiva Baby is a fairly short film.
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