The suspense.

The chaos.

The overbearing mother.

The awkwardness.

The thrill.

The camera movements. The claustrophobic close-ups, and annoyingly and appropriately applied, striking score during the falling action’s highlight.

The lead actress’, Rachel Sennott, subtle facials ticks. Her power. Her powerful performance in leading with lies and hoping no one asked a follow-up.

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My god.

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This felt like watching Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rope” (1948) for the film time.

It was pure theater.

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It seeped with colorful characters! I loved that ethnic folks, no matter the ethnicity, have similar familial traits. I could point out a member of my own family in almost every guest at the shiva.

The film’s aura felt familiar, and even when it didn’t, I quite enjoyed the content.

I believe I’ve seen an adaptation of this screenplay’s premise before, but “Shiva Baby” keeps drilling down on detail. Every time Danielle (Sennott) 🧨 and Max (Danny Defferari) 🧨 lied to others about how they knew each other, the more the suspense built.

And then it just bursts. 💥💥 Full of anxiety.

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Highly recommend the watch. Emma Seligman has gained a new fan in me. 👏🏾👏🏾🧐