'Tahara' Review: Teen Awakening at a Funeral
NR
Runtime: 1 Hr and 18 Minutes
Distributor: Film Movement
Director: Olivia Peace
Writers: Jess Zeidman
Cast: Rachel Sennott, Madeline Grey DeFreece, Shlomit Azoulay, Daniel Taveras, Bernadette Quigley
Release Date: June 10, 2022
In Select Theaters
This review was originally published in October 2020.
Carrie Lowstein and Hannah Rosen have been inseparable for as long as they can remember. When their former Hebrew school classmate, Samantha Goldstein, commits suicide, the two girls go to her funeral as well as the "Teen Talk-back" session designed to be an opportunity for them to understand grief through their faith. But, after an innocent kissing exercise turns Carrie's world inside out, the best friends find themselves distracted by the teenage complications of lust, social status, and wavering faith.
Despite… well, everything… 2020 has been a great year for fresh new voices in cinema. One of the highly effective and most notable films is Tahara, the directorial feature debut of Olivia Peace and screenwriter Jess Zeidman, which premiered at Slamdance Film Festival earlier this year.
The film centers on best friends Carrie (Madeline Grey DeFreece) and Hannah (Rachel Sennott), two Hebrew school teenagers who attend the funeral of one of their fellow peers. Mild-mannered Carrie feels a sense of false grief in the air through the sudden despair from her classmates while self-centered Hannah is set on getting with a classmate she’s crushing on. When Hannah convinces Carrie to kiss her as “practice,” a major shift occurs in their friendship.
There has been an influx of coming-of-age comedies centered on Gen-Z teenagers, but rarely are they made by people of the generation. Peace’s film applies a new coat of paint on the genre as it refreshingly presents itself in a stylish, cinematic fashion aligned with Zeidman’s sharp-witted screenplay. It has such a Daria-esque edge to it but with a modern sensibility.
From a directorial standpoint, Peace does a fantastic job making this queer coming-of-age comedy feel authentic to its target demographic while also appealing to other audiences. The film is shot in a square ratio — one that resembles an Instagram portrait — and it has a beautiful cinematic look to it. Even though the ratio size is small, Peace frames each scene in an intricate manner. She plays with the depth of field, making sure each frame has enough presence and that each set holds its own weight. Thanks to the amazing cinematography by Tehillah De Castro and animations by Emily Ann Hoffman, there are creative artistic moments that correspond with Carrie’s sexual awakening, helping you get emotionally close with her as an audience member.
Carrie is so fascinating as a character, for she is the first Black Jewish girl I’ve seen in film. She has a relatable arc of coming into her own in confidence and sexuality. The friendship dynamic between Carrie and Hannah is the major drive of the narrative that keeps you on your toes. Your friendship with your toxic bestie is all fun and games until you start fucking with their feelings. While it’s hella funny and sharp, Zeidman’s script provides an honest, bittersweet depiction of toxic friendships, which is rarely explored in detail.
Newcomers Madeline Grey DeFreece and Rachel Sennott provide spectacular performances. They capture the relatable “shy person and self-centered chaotic disaster” friendship dynamic that we all have (or once had) in our lives. They have vastly different personalities, but one can still recognize the groundwork foundations of their friendship. DeFreece channels that untapped power that glows as the story progresses and more details surrounding the death of her peer are revealed. She has such a knockout scene that made me go:
But seriously, I’d love to see more of DeFreece in future projects as she does a great job going through the range of subtle shyness, leading to frustrated confidence.
Rachel Sennott is absolutely hysterical. Her character, Hannah, is so detestable, for she resembles a superficial Valley girl who manipulates and gaslights everyone just to get what she wants… yet, she’s so funny. If you’ve seen any of Sennott’s standup or read any of her tweets, you already know how funny she is by default and that talent translates well on screen. She truly steals every scene she’s in as she encapsulates the classic mean girl persona, providing most of the laugh-out-loud moments.
At the end of the day, Tahara is brilliantly crafted, intelligent, honest, funny and stylishly cinematic. It's a slow-burner with wit and charm that never overstays its welcome thanks to its well-paced 77-minute runtime. It serves as a great showcase of these fresh and vibrant voices, both on-screen and behind the camera. Tahara might be right up there with Cooper Raiff’s Shithouse as one of the most powerful film debuts I’ve seen this year.
Rating: 4/5 | 85%
