Krisha

KRISHA, a pill-popping, booze-swilling hippie, has lived her life as the black sheep. After a decade of battling her inner demons, she returns home for Thanksgiving following years of estrangement. The mysterious arrival brings tension to an otherwise familiar holiday gathering that swells as each layer of the past is slowly unraveled. Soon, family secrets are unearthed, lies are revealed, and trust is broken. “You are heartbreak incarnate, lady; you are a leaver,” her brother-in-law snarls. Writer-director Trey Edward Shults shot the film almost entirely in his parents' Texas home and cast his aunt, mother, grandma, and himself as members of the family. Much like Krisha’s own swirling perspective, the intriguing ensemble and interspersed home videos only serve to further blur the already disorienting boundaries of reality. A character study of the most intense degree, KRISHA is a dizzying, captivating portrait of addiction that challenges the boundaries of compassion. –N.D.