"Don't you think it should cost less to be alive?"
Based on the Tony award-winning play, The Humans follows the course of an evening in which the Blake family gathers to celebrate Thanksgiving in a shabby New York apartment. As darkness falls outside the crumbling building, mysterious things start to go bump in the night and family tensions reach a boiling point. About a month ago, I was able to see a production of this to get a little taste into what I would be getting into with this. I absolutely loved the play and had really high hopes for the film version. After all, the original playwright and director adapted the screenplay and went on to direct again. Though I don't think the film captures everything the play did, The Humans is a pretty solid movie. Stephen Karam has a great understanding of what he wants to focus on in this version, and that would be atmosphere. The cinematography really accentuates the disgusting, eeriness of the apartment. The whole space becomes it's own character. The lighting isn't evenly lit, a plot device actually is the lights going at eventually, and there's always a feeling of something dark lurking in the corners or off screen. This isn't by any means a horror story in the sense of evil spirits or monsters. A quote that explains the title comes from the character Richard. He talks about a comic he loved/loves about monsters from a different planet and how "the horror stories for the monsters are about humans." That's exactly what the story is trying to get at and also strike fear into the audience to what people - families - become when the reunite and let themselves show. When we get to the last shot, it's absolutely beautiful and haunting. It's one that lingers and makes you think about everything you had to take in within the last 110 minutes.
The characters are all extremely fleshed out. Each has their own issues, both with themselves and the others surrounding them, and that's what makes them so relatable. We have a stacked cast that consists of Richard Jenkins, Jayne Houdyshell (who won a Tony for this same role), Beanie Feldstein, Steven Yeun, Amy Schumer, and June Squibb. Each of them is fantastic. I think Richard Jenkins and Jayne Houdyshell should be in the conversation for awards nominations, but that's something I'll get into later. The two are so dynamic in their portrayals of Erik and Deirdre. Obviously, there are many monologues, and they nail each and every one. The ending showcases so much emotion in Erik and I loved seeing his interpretation of everything, along with Karam's interpretation for the movie. Beanie Feldstein has become a very great actress over the past couple of years and gives one of her best performances. Steven Yeun had had the same success and does Richard justice. June Squibb's character doenst speak too much or get a ton of screen time, but her presence is always felt. Many people have problems with Amy Schumer as a person and comedian. I've never experienced that, but I can tell you that you won't have that here. As a dramatic role, she does well with, coincidentally, Aimee. I really like that character and she's dedicated to portraying her and her emotions with care. It's an ensemble showcase and if you'll leave with anything, it's how great of characters and performances there are.
Stephen Karam made his directorial debut in film with this project. Though he knows the source material more than anyone, I felt some of the direction took away honestly. Maybe it's because the production I saw took a different direction than here, but this has a much different tone. The play is filled with jokes, dramatic tension, and anxiety. The movie goes for the drama and "horror" more than anything. The script is almost exactly the same as the play. Even with that, I think we lost some. A majority of the jokes in the movie never really landed. I couldn't tell if they were going for humor or just passing comments. With that, a little bit of the enjoyment factor was lost. The drama is on point, though some subtleties didn't quite come through. I mentioned how good the cinematography was, but it also became an issue. Instead of focusing on characters in conversations, the camera often moves around to different parts of the apartment to looks at nothing/everything. You can hear everything in this space, but sometimes we just didn't see what we could've. There's a haunting reveal made towards the end that absolutely broke me while seeing the play. Here, the camera angle and how quickly it's played off didn't do it the justice it needed. Another very emotional part is cut down a little and I think they needed the full treatment. Karam wants to give us an intrusive and uncomfortable experience, and though we get it, it comes off in the wrong sense at times. His direction, though I think is good, needed a little more care and thought put in for film treatment.
I have a lot to say about The Humans. Mainly I liked it. I can't say I enjoyed it because this is one of those stories that isn't meant to be enjoyed, rather thought about and experienced. Stage to screen can have issues in translating. I think this almost gets it all. This has a different direction than the stage is used to seeing from my knowledge. Just look up clips on YouTube and compare it to this and you'll see a notable difference. Not everything works. But this is such a brilliant story that's incredibly written. I know not everyone will like this, and most audiences aren't liking it. I liked the play better, but I still thought this was a solid movie. It may not be one I'll revisit a lot, but it stuck with me, and for good reason.
Based on the Tony award-winning play, The Humans follows the course of an evening in which the Blake family gathers to celebrate Thanksgiving in a shabby New York apartment. As darkness falls outside the crumbling building, mysterious things start to go bump in the night and family tensions reach a boiling point. About a month ago, I was able to see a production of this to get a little taste into what I would be getting into with this. I absolutely loved the play and had really high hopes for the film version. After all, the original playwright and director adapted the screenplay and went on to direct again. Though I don't think the film captures everything the play did, The Humans is a pretty solid movie. Stephen Karam has a great understanding of what he wants to focus on in this version, and that would be atmosphere. The cinematography really accentuates the disgusting, eeriness of the apartment. The whole space becomes it's own character. The lighting isn't evenly lit, a plot device actually is the lights going at eventually, and there's always a feeling of something dark lurking in the corners or off screen. This isn't by any means a horror story in the sense of evil spirits or monsters. A quote that explains the title comes from the character Richard. He talks about a comic he loved/loves about monsters from a different planet and how "the horror stories for the monsters are about humans." That's exactly what the story is trying to get at and also strike fear into the audience to what people - families - become when the reunite and let themselves show. When we get to the last shot, it's absolutely beautiful and haunting. It's one that lingers and makes you think about everything you had to take in within the last 110 minutes.
The characters are all extremely fleshed out. Each has their own issues, both with themselves and the others surrounding them, and that's what makes them so relatable. We have a stacked cast that consists of Richard Jenkins, Jayne Houdyshell (who won a Tony for this same role), Beanie Feldstein, Steven Yeun, Amy Schumer, and June Squibb. Each of them is fantastic. I think Richard Jenkins and Jayne Houdyshell should be in the conversation for awards nominations, but that's something I'll get into later. The two are so dynamic in their portrayals of Erik and Deirdre. Obviously, there are many monologues, and they nail each and every one. The ending showcases so much emotion in Erik and I loved seeing his interpretation of everything, along with Karam's interpretation for the movie. Beanie Feldstein has become a very great actress over the past couple of years and gives one of her best performances. Steven Yeun had had the same success and does Richard justice. June Squibb's character doenst speak too much or get a ton of screen time, but her presence is always felt. Many people have problems with Amy Schumer as a person and comedian. I've never experienced that, but I can tell you that you won't have that here. As a dramatic role, she does well with, coincidentally, Aimee. I really like that character and she's dedicated to portraying her and her emotions with care. It's an ensemble showcase and if you'll leave with anything, it's how great of characters and performances there are.
Stephen Karam made his directorial debut in film with this project. Though he knows the source material more than anyone, I felt some of the direction took away honestly. Maybe it's because the production I saw took a different direction than here, but this has a much different tone. The play is filled with jokes, dramatic tension, and anxiety. The movie goes for the drama and "horror" more than anything. The script is almost exactly the same as the play. Even with that, I think we lost some. A majority of the jokes in the movie never really landed. I couldn't tell if they were going for humor or just passing comments. With that, a little bit of the enjoyment factor was lost. The drama is on point, though some subtleties didn't quite come through. I mentioned how good the cinematography was, but it also became an issue. Instead of focusing on characters in conversations, the camera often moves around to different parts of the apartment to looks at nothing/everything. You can hear everything in this space, but sometimes we just didn't see what we could've. There's a haunting reveal made towards the end that absolutely broke me while seeing the play. Here, the camera angle and how quickly it's played off didn't do it the justice it needed. Another very emotional part is cut down a little and I think they needed the full treatment. Karam wants to give us an intrusive and uncomfortable experience, and though we get it, it comes off in the wrong sense at times. His direction, though I think is good, needed a little more care and thought put in for film treatment.
I have a lot to say about The Humans. Mainly I liked it. I can't say I enjoyed it because this is one of those stories that isn't meant to be enjoyed, rather thought about and experienced. Stage to screen can have issues in translating. I think this almost gets it all. This has a different direction than the stage is used to seeing from my knowledge. Just look up clips on YouTube and compare it to this and you'll see a notable difference. Not everything works. But this is such a brilliant story that's incredibly written. I know not everyone will like this, and most audiences aren't liking it. I liked the play better, but I still thought this was a solid movie. It may not be one I'll revisit a lot, but it stuck with me, and for good reason.