One thing can be deduced by A24’s filmography around the end of 2021. With audiences still reminiscing on their recent pandemic lockdowns, the desire for intimate dramas became more prevalent. While C’mon C’mon (2021) found an auteur filmmaker touring America to find connection, The Humans (2021) longs for something closer to home. As the debut film of Stephen Karam, it sought to explore the dysfunctionality of a family getting together for Thanksgiving. What followed was a translation of a Tony-winning stage drama that explored the discomfort with artistic flair and a cast that fully embodied the roles with intensity and heart. Even in its smallness, it showed the studio’s capabilities to challenge the form and give new voices a chance to shine.
The story begins with the aforementioned stage play. Karam recalls wanting to write a story about a family. As he went further, he found himself becoming more in awe of their potential, resulting in more dimensional characterizations. Along with the dread, he was inspired by enclosed dramas like the film Wait Until Dark (1967). Having also grown up on the Scream films, a lot of the book was inspired by tropes he was familiar with. The Humans premiered Off-Broadway in 2015. The reviews were positive enough that it would transition to Broadway the following year, landing a residency at The Helen Hayes Theater. It would go on to win three Tony Awards, including Best Play as well as Best Featured Actress in a Play for Jayne Houdyshell.
Karam’s love of film made it evident that he would eventually transition to the medium. While he had written screenplays before, including the Saoirse Ronan adaptation of The Seagull (2018), this would be his first time as director. Joining him would by Houdyshell, who was excited to reprise her role. Along with the change of mediums, Karam was eager to find new ways to bring the story to life. Given the ability to move locations, he wanted to explore how he could take the story into exterior locations and make everything feel more expansive.
Given that it was set in an apartment, he was even eager to shoot in his old one believing that it would add to the authenticity. He recalls one day visiting the old building and telling security that he wanted to film in the garbage area. This was met with immediate skepticism and even with the bribery of $200 and promise of only filming a scene, they were convinced he was going to break into the rooms. The persuasion eventually worked and helped to add dimension to the scenic design.
Karam also mentioned that he was impressed with the flexibility of the cast. Everyone was game for doing improvisational filming, meaning many scenes weren’t properly staged until the day of. This allowed him to determine the power of a shot including how zooming in and cutting away could impact the emotional weight of his script. At one point he had an eight minute long take that he praised as reflecting actors so in the moment that he hoped the audience wouldn’t be distracted by it. There was a push towards naturalism that was on display from the opening. He believed that by drawing out scenes, it would force the viewer to engage with the minutiae of everyone’s behavior. Even the decision to reflect on an elderly character being placed in a wheelchair was seen as teaching the audience how to process the story.
While there wasn’t any meaningful controversy during the making of the film, there was one story that threatened to overshadow the theatrical release. Along with Stephen Yeun coming off of an Oscar-nominated role for Minari (2021), producer Scott Rudin came under fire for sexual harassment allegations. As a result, his name was removed from The Humans and several other projects. The premiere would be held at Toronto International Film Festival to critical acclaim before going on to play at 25 festivals. In keeping with the spirit of the story, the film premiered late November both theatrically and on Showtime. While it would receive one Independent Spirit Film Award nomination, its larger awards push was less successful.
In general, The Humans did well with critics. According to critics aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, the film had a 92% approval rating. This would help to make it one of A24’s most acclaimed movies of the year. Leading the positivity was David Walsh of World Socialist Web Site who noted, “How does making the work resemble a horror movie add anything to our understanding of the Blakes and their relationships, to each other and to the world? It might be one of those overly clever conceptions that should have been set aside." Keith Garlington of Keith and the Movies continued the applause when suggesting, “Love and family can be a messy combination and the movie shows that with an affecting clarity.” The few who disagreed included Todd Jorgenson of Cinemalogue who decried, “More ambitious than the average saga about dysfunctional family holiday gatherings, this adaptation of the Tony-winning one-act play nevertheless maintains an awkward emotional detachment on screen.” Overall the film ended up becoming a critic’s favorite. It would appear on Top 10 of 2021 lists for outlets like Vanity Fair and The Hollywood Reporter. Indiewire also listed it as one of the best first features of the year.
As of this publication, Karam hasn’t announced another project. While he is satisfied with how The Humans has turned out, he wants to have his next project be an original story made for film. Given his love of film tropes, it makes sense that he wants to explore the potential of the medium in ways that are more organic. With all of that said, this isn’t the final time that A24 would team with a stage director for a film debut. Annie Baker was only a few years off from Janet Planet (2024), which would receive even higher praise than The Humans.
The tense character piece was enough to establish Karam’s potential to be a double threat of stage and screen. With his debut, his textured study of family dysfunction allowed for the intimacy of the stage to expand into a world more recognizable to the audience. With an all-star cast, he captured the complications of egos clashing and doing their best to not go insane as they maneuver through a family dinner. It was a message that felt perfect for an era of post-lockdown America where everyone was still a little disoriented and needing to make sense of the world. The same could be said for A24’s next film, which found things even more charged and confrontational in ways that would make anyone want to leave town. It was the return of a filmmaker whose last outing earned an Oscar-nomination and produced one of the studio’s most revered works. Would the second time be the charm?
Coming Up Next: Red Rocket (2021)
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