‘The Humans’ is an American psychological drama film which is written and directed by Stephen Karam. This movie is his directorial debut which is based on his one-act play of the same name. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) for its world premiere on September 12, 2021. And this film was released by A24 on November 24, 2021, both in theatres and on Showtime. In 2021, Scott Rudin was removed as a producer on the film, following allegations of abuse.
Story of the Movie
‘The Humans’ takes place at Thanksgiving. Early on, we see Erik and Deirdre Blake, an older couple who are family members of the newer generation, sitting in a diner waiting to meet their daughter Brigid. Erik and Deirdre have not spoken to Brigid since she left home nearly eight years prior to this meeting. Their daughter Aimee is also present. All three of them are waiting for Brigid, who is late and has yet to show up.
The diners that they are in are filled with other people all there waiting for someone as well. They have all had separate lives since they were all last together. The relationships within the family run deep, as can be seen by Erik and Deirdre’s facial expressions. Although they have not spoken to Brigid in years, their faces convey the level of disgust, shame, anger and animosity that they feel towards her.
Cast and Character of the Movie
- Beanie Feldstein as Brigid Blake
- Richard Jenkins as Erik Blake
- Jayne Houdyshell as Deirdre Blake
- Amy Schumer as Aimee Blake
- Steven Yeun as Richard
- June Squibb as Momo
What was the point of the movie ‘The Humans’?
‘The Humans’ is an American drama film which tells about the coming together of an extended family for a Thanksgiving dinner. It is about the relationship of the family members to each other and to their loved ones. The relationship was established before in this film, but it will be revisited at Thanksgiving when the family reunites after their long separation. The long separation of Brigid from her family is to be reconciled during this holiday meal.
The filmmakers and the cast made a conscious effort to approach the Thanksgiving scene, which was the centrepiece of the play, from an anti-climactic point of view. They wanted to minimise what comes before and after that key moment. They also chose not to come up with a kind of secularised Christian holiday special that you would see on television. They wanted it to be as real as they could make it.
What is Erik’s secret in ‘The Humans’?
It was not only the audience, but also the characters in “The Humans” (the film) who were waiting for Brigid to show up. Everybody knew that she was coming; everybody knew that she was not coming until she finally showed up. The audience had before them a long wait for her arrival. And, of course, in what felt like an eternity of waiting, they did come to realise that there was some kind of secret or something that the family members were hiding or concealing from one another.
