52 Films by Women Vol 5. 50. SHIVA BABY (Director: Emma Seligman)
When a film begins with the sounds of sexual pleasure, you generally expect everything else to go downhill. Shiva Baby , the debut feature of Toronto-born, New York-based writer-director Emma Seligman, doesn’t disappoint. Danielle (stand-up comedian and co-star of the short-lived sitcom, Call Your Mother , Rachel Sennott) is just bringing Max (Danny Deferrari) to orgasm with a ‘yeah, daddy,’ when her phone starts buzzing. Whether you would leave your phone on in such circumstances is a moot point, but in the 2020s, FOMO takes precedence over ‘oh, oh!’ Danielle’s mother, Debbie (Polly Draper) has called, asking if she’s coming to the funeral today. ‘You said you are, but your dad says you’re not.’ She complains about her husband, Joel (Fred Melamed) who is ‘ten months behind’. ‘He’s still at the gym so who knows if he’ll ever get there. Danielle – your father, useless.’ Draper’s delivery is punchy, cold but matter of fact. Debbie lives in a cloud of scepticism that she does not al...