When people talk about New York filmmakers, Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee are frequently the first two names that come to mind, while Jim Jarmusch is often forgotten, maybe because he hasn’t made much of an effort to set or film any of his movies in his own city. One of the segments in Night on Earth was one exception, as were many of the shorts that made up Coffee and Cigarettes. Even so, he’s a regular staple at Film at Lincoln Center, as well as a frequent part of its New York Film Festival, with Father Mother Sister Brother having its U.S. premiere there after so many other films played the prestigious fest.
Jarmusch has been bouncing between genre films, such as Only Lovers Left Alive and The Dead Don’t Die, with smaller, more personal pieces. Father Mother Sister Brother is definitely more in that latter vein, a triptych of three unconnected (but somewhat related) stories, each with their own small cast. The first segment, “Father,” features Adam Driver and Mayim Bialik (best known these days for her stint as a Jeopardy host) driving through snowy backroads to the remote house of their father, played by Tom Waits. The second segment, “Mother,” is set in Dublin, Ireland, and it involves two sisters (Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps) visiting their own mother (Charlotte Rampling) for an awkward spot of tea. The final segment, “Sister Brother,” features Indya Moore and Luka Sabbat as twin siblings Skye and Billy visiting their dead parents’ abandoned home in Paris for the final time.
“Father” immediately sets up the tone of this being a Jarmusch film with Driver and Bialik discussing their widower father on the journey to see him. When they arrive at his house, it’s obvious to them that he’s having some financial issues after the loss of his wife. Since their father is behaving so erratically, they decide to cut their visit short, which is when we get to the “punchline” of that segment, for lack of a better word. It’s by far the funniest aspect of the entire movie, and a great use of Waits’ talents by one of the filmmakers who first realized his acting potential back in 1986’s Down by Law.
“Mother” begins with Rampling on her own, awaiting her two daughters’ arrival for afternoon tea. We already know that her daughter Lilith (Krieps) is going through some issues, as we get a chance to know Lilith during her own travel to her mother’s place. We quickly realize that Lilith is putting on a front to make it seems she’s doing far better than she actually is. In fact, her sister (Blanchett) can barely get a word in before Lilith is trying to one-up her. Oddly, there was a Kristen Wiig character on Saturday Night Live named Penelope, who was essentially this same joke, always trying to one-up anyone sharing anything going on in their lives. As enjoyable as it is seeing these three fantastic actors together (as with the previous segment) and there’s a nice overhead shot of their ornate tea table between the women, this segment goes nowhere.
After that segment, we get “Brother Sister,” the Paris-set portion, which doesn’t try so hard to make audiences laugh, as it’s just a nice reunion between twin siblings after the death of their parents, showing off two of the film’s lesser-known but equally compelling actors. In some ways, this third segment works the best at showing familial bonds, because it’s not trying so hard to go for easy laughs. Even so, it doesn’t end in as satisfying way as the first segment, and it probably could have ended one scene earlier and been the better for it.
It’s interesting to see Jarmusch doing something in the vein of Night on Earth at this point in his career. There’s little question that seeing Tom Waits back in a Jarmusch movie might be the best aspect of Father Mother. None of the characters in each segment have much of a connection in the other segments, even though there are recurring elements and themes that most will notice. For instance, each of the segment involves someone wearing or mentioning a Rolex – it’s probably a complete coincidence that the New York Film Festival is sponsored by Rolex, right? – and there are topics like water and medicine mentioned a few times. There’s also a recurring theme of showing a bunch of skaters in slow motion, less odd in the bigger cities than on a remote road in the middle of “Nowheresville.”
Jarmusch’s sharp, witty, and clever writing is on point in Father Mother Sister Brother, but it doesn’t always make up for the film’s otherwise mundane subject matter. Even so, his skilled cast still makes it worthwhile viewing. It’s also nice to see the auteur filmmaker breaking away from the genre filmmaking, which never quite seemed like his bag while returning to more humanistic character pieces such as this one.
Rating: B
Father Mother Sister Brother just had its U.S. Premiere at the 63rd New York Film Festival as its Centrepiece and will have two more screenings on October 9, and 13. MUBI will release Jarmusch’s film theatrically on December 24, 2025… Christmas Eve!