Rachel Sennott’s distinctive talents have painted her as one of the most promising young comedians in Hollywood. Sennott’s knack for razor-sharp satirical comedy is distilled in Bottoms (2023), which she co-wrote alongside director Emma Seligman, but can be traced back to her 2020 web series Ayo and Rachel are Single, which is a fun, bite-sized comic installment with Bottoms co-star Ayo Edebiri.
It might be tempting to write Sennott off as a one-note comic presence, but her performance in Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022), I Used To Be Funny (2023), and her ongoing HBO series, I Love LA, point to an incredible range with complexity brimming beneath the surface. That said, the role that put Sennott on the map was Seligman’s anxiety-ridden 2020 comedy-thriller, Shiva Baby, which you should absolutely check out (or revisit) before it leaves Netflix.
In Shiva Baby, Sennott plays Danielle, a young Jewish woman who reluctantly attends a shiva with her overbearing parents, Joel (Fred Melamed) and Debbie (Polly Draper). Sennott played Danielle before in Seligman’s 2018 short film of the same name, which also leverages escalating claustrophobia throughout its eight-minute runtime.
The 2020 film gets more breathing room to set Danielle’s dynamic with her sugar daddy, Max (Danny Deferrari), and hone in on her bisexuality with the addition of Danielle’s ex-girlfriend, Maya (Molly Gordon). Amid stifling expectations of curious relatives and the extended community at the shiva, Danielle experiences a downward spiral when both Max and Maya arrive at the event.
The comedic elements of the film are tinged with relatable awkwardness, but they build up to a hellish experience that’s not too unlike a horror movie. Danielle is not only inundated with questions about her career prospects, but she must also quietly process the shock of seeing Max with the gorgeous Kim (Dianna Agron), whom he is married to and has a baby with.
Cornered and alone, Danielle stress-eats her way through the funeral buffet while navigating the panicked lies she comes up with on the spot, along with the anxiety of feeling utterly lost in a cramped social setting with no easy way out. Seligman captures these interpersonal nuances in painfully familiar ways — we are supposed to worry over and cringe at Danielle’s predicament while rooting for her escape from this shiva from hell.
Sennott’s breakout performance in Shiva Baby earned her a Gotham Award nomination for Breakthrough Actor. Deservedly so, as Seligman’s directorial debut would’ve fallen flat without a pitch-perfect central performance to ground the chaotic narrative. Much of Danielle’s woes are communicated via subtle expressions, including fake smiles to appease intrusive personal questions and the embarrassment of interacting with Max in front of her parents. Maya’s presence also adds to the turmoil within Danielle’s soul, as her ex is more forthright and confrontational than most people at the shiva, which feels like a double-edged sword. Sennott cycles through these moods with great skill, turning Shiva Baby into a visceral experience.
Beneath the nervous, uncomfortable laughter that Shiva Baby elicits, it is a nerve-wracking snapshot of the anxieties that young people like Danielle have to shoulder due to societal pressure. It’s difficult enough to sift through the emotional hurt that accompanies thwarted ambition and relationships, but this pain is exacerbated by the relentless prodding of parental figures who remain oblivious to their toxic contributions (no matter how well-intentioned).
Shiva Baby dabbles in the quiet externalization of these fears, where Seligman builds discomfort within the framework of an eccentric black comedy. The results are brilliant, as this Sennott-starrer is as stress-inducing as dramatic works like The Exterminating Angel and Uncut Gems.
Shiva Baby can be streamed on Netflix.
