Less is so much more in feel-bad classic ‘Krisha’

Starring Krisha Fairchild, Robyn Fairchild and Bill Wise. Directed by Trey Edward Shults.

Rated R for language, substance abuse and some sexual content. Check listings for theaters. 1 hours, 22 minutes.

Bottom line: A story of an independent spirit during a holiday celebration

Convening family and friends in a Texas home for a nine-day shoot on a shoestring budget, writer, director and co-star Trey Edward Shults creates a feel-bad Thanksgiving classic with the darkly compelling “Krisha.” The film picked up the John Cassavetes award at the 2016 Independent Spirit Awards, which is bestowed upon the best films made for under $500,000. “Krisha” truly exemplifies the notion of the independent spirit, made with a close group of loved ones to tell the harrowing story of a holiday from hell.

Shults cast a mix of working actors, non-professional performers and family members, including his mother and grandmother, to fill out the large family at the center of the story. His own aunt Krisha Fairchild, an actress, takes on the title role, and is absolutely stunning in her performance of a woman on the edge, only recently welcomed back into her family after years spent battling substance abuse. She has returned to the fold on this Thanksgiving holiday, hoping to repair the rifts in her relationships, particularly with her estranged son Trey (Shults).

Shults captures a lively sense of chaos familiar to a family holiday that feels authentically lived in. He resourcefully puts his camera and soundtrack to work in evoking Krisha’s inner tumult — the camera whirls and Brian McOmber’s film score skitters atonally as she tries to maintain her composure — overwhelmed with the pressures of the reunion. The percussive score blends with a constant hum of background conversation, and the layered pattern of disjointed sound gives the film a sense of real anxiety. It’s when the soundtrack changes, significantly, to a Nina Simone song, that we know something’s drastically amiss.

The camera pushes in or pulls out from Krisha as she takes a moment to have a smoke, often from a window perch, aloft and away from the family tumble, behind doors and layers of glass, isolated with her own feelings, behind the walls of 10 years that have yet to come down. We are granted voyeuristic access to some of the stolen secret moments among the family; whispered disagreements and conversations away from the fracas, before it dramatically explodes.

“Krisha” is an incredible achievement, both for its performances — Krisha Fairchild is incredible and worth the price of admission alone, but Shults also elicits fine work from his family, including his mother, Robyn Fairchild — and its DIY aesthetic that pushes the boundaries and possibilities of cinema. It’s a film that proves less can often provide opportunities for so much more.