The film tells the story of Danielle, a young Jewish and bisexual woman who attends a shiv'ah with her family, during which she meets her ex-girlfriend Maya, her sugar daddy Max as well as his wife Kim and their newborn baby. In a reduced spatio-temporal setting, Danielle explores her romantic and professional projects under the intense gaze of her family, friends and neighbors. (Wikipedia).
Technical fact sheet
Director: Emma Seligman Screenplay: Emma Seligman, based on the eponymous short film Country of origin: United States, Canada Language: English Genre: Comedy Duration: 78 minutes Release date: United States: April 2020
distribution
Rachel Sennott as Danielle Molly Gordon as Maya Danny Deferrari as Max Polly Draper as Debbie Fred Melamed as Joel Dianna Agron as Kim Beckett
Impressions
Danielle finds herself unwittingly catapulted into a Kafkaesque situation. She must attend the funeral of… From whom already? She tries to go unnoticed by playing the kind, nice and full of projects. But all the guests of this after shiva seem focused on her. She hardly knows anyone. Most of the guests are family she hasn't seen in a long time or has never seen. From the family of the family, distant friends, dinosaurs whose main diversion is none other than the acidic and corrosive judgment of his deeds and gestures. The questions she absolutely does not want to answer: "What are you doing right now?", "Do you have a job?", "Do you eat?", "Do you have a boyfriend?", lose importance at the precise moment when her sugar daddy Max arrives at the funeral with his attractive wife and their little girl.
A film with few resources
It is always surprising how impactful, poignant, and considered a good film can be a film without the need for big budgets, celebrities or special effects. Despite some clumsiness, this camera on the shoulder and this little girl who screams throughout the event reinforce this latent claustrophobia, this bubble wrap that explodes conscientiously every time she is made to understand that she is shabby. 
This play seems to enjoy all the elements of a closed session, despite the number and dispersion of guests. Because in the end, no matter if they are 2 or 2000, the questions are always the same, as if a big monster with 2000 mouths stubbornly said the same things. Her discomfort in front of her ex-girlfriend, also present at the event, in front of her parents who tell uncomplimentary stories about her, as if she was not present. As if she were five years old. The little girl crying forcing the guests to speak very loudly. The mother who keeps asking others to give her daughter a job. His sugar daddy, who gives him luxurious looks, his wife, who moves with a perfection that disturbs. The Spanish woman who speaks to you had a feeling of déjà vu, echoes of Spanish directors who describe with exhaustive precision the family reunions. Every being on this planet with a family was once treated to a proper family reunion. Luis Buñel, even Saura (without the creepy) came to mind. But, in the end, this film could have been shot in the middle of my parents' living room, with my aunts, my uncles, my cousins, my parents' cousins who, like Terminators, seemed to have built-in scanners and who always knew how to touch where it hurt. The cinematographer would have done wonders for me. She enjoyed making foregrounds on a myriad of emotions that struggle to stay hidden. And we anguish with the main actress. You become the target of all those deftly thrown darts and you dream of leaving. But it's impossible! One of the guests always blocks the way!
The end
A dignified end and at the height of the whole film, which will perpetuate the malaise until the end. And we'll laugh about it. Because anxiety is taken to such an extreme that it becomes derision. Why is there always this parent who insists and insists that no one wants to do what he asks? Here is the awesome touch of Shiva Baby. As much as the story, the content, are dramatic, it allows us to laugh out loud when we least expect it. This will allow us to breathe and empathize with Danielle from the outside, without getting too involved. This film-jar does not sequester us. While compassionate, it allows us to distance ourselves. Anguish and malaise remain in their place and we in ours. That's why Shiva baby lets himself be looked at without inviting us too much to transfer. Maybe not "The" masterpiece but a very good film very well structured, coherent and that knows how to keep its objective until the last second.
