The Humans: Film Review
With a stellar cast including Steven Yeun, Beanie Feldstein, Amy Schumer and Richard Jenkins, I couldn’t resist checking out The Humans but sadly, I came away thoroughly disappointed.
The Humans is written and directed by playwright Stephen Karam, who is making his feature directorial debut. It follows Brigid Blake (Feldstein) and her boyfriend Richard (Yeun) as they host a Thanksgiving meal for her family – father Erik (Jenkins), mother Deidre (Jayne Houdyshell), older sister Aimee (Schumer) and grandma Momo (June Squibb). The couple has just moved into their decaying New York apartment so the meal takes place in a very bare, sparse environment.
This is based on Karam’s stage play of the same name and you can tell. Not much happens and we basically just watch the dysfunctional family hash out misgivings during dinner. It might have been more exciting and interesting on stage but as a film, it’s very dull.
The character work is rich and the acting is excellent across the board and there were some compelling conversations but I found myself quite bored. It was such a struggle for me to stick with it. I kept waiting for some big climactic moment or for it to crank up a gear or for something to happen! There are a couple of spooky moments that I thought were leading somewhere but nope. There are also so many shots of the gross, leaking apartment that I thought would mean something later but nope. Very frustrating.
All six actors bring their best but I was particularly impressed with Jenkins and Houdyshell (who reprises her role from the play). They are terrific. It was also refreshing to see Schumer playing a straight dramatic role – she should do more of this!
The Humans has some moments that I liked but overall, I didn’t find it a gripping or entertaining film at all.
In cinemas now