Review of The Humans, directed by Stephen Karam

One of my greatest talents I say is procrastinating on things I’m saying I’m going to do, and then never getting around to doing it. In the realm of movies, there are all of these movies I’m so excited about seeing each year, but then never end up having the chance to see them within one or two years simply because I don’t have time.

The Humans is one of those movies. I knew about the play for many years, as I’m an avid Broadway goer—so many of my theater reviews live on this blog. A beloved person I know also worked on the Broadway play, and whenever I go over her place, I spot all of the merchandise signed on the walls.

I ended up finally getting around to the movie version in May 2024, when I was finished my master’s degree and in that excruciating phase of waiting for something big to happen. The next big thing was indeed moving to South Korea for a Critical Language Scholarship, but I had a month for that.

I found the film on Kanopy, and watched it all the way through on a Monday morning instead of doing other work. Here’s my review before I start rambling too much!

As a family gathers for Thanksgiving, their dinner is filled with tension and regret.

This movie is set during Thanksgiving, and Brigid and her partner, Richard, have just bought a new apartment in Chinatown. That means the family is going to gather there this Christmas, so her parents, Erik and Deirdre, grandmother Momo, and Brigid’s sister Aimee come for the celebration.

This is the first time anyone has seen the apartment, and immediately Erik starts going on about how the apartment is too close to Ground Zero and that it’s in such a flood hazard neighborhood. Turns out he has some pent up trauma because after driving Aimee to an interview, he was planning on going to the Towers.

He was waiting across the street for the Observation Deck to open when the towers fell. However, this isn’t the only thing that is on people’s minds. Brigid is mad at her parents because they have no financially supported her, and she has been unable to follow her dreams and become a composer.

Richard is struggling with depression, and is denied access to a trust fund he cannot get until he is forty. If they could get access to it, that would solve a lot of problems. On the other hand, Aimee has a chronic illness, lost her job, and her girlfriend left her.

Things aren’t looking too good for her, and she now needs a surgery. Her mother, Deirdre, also is suffering from poor health and is the scapegoat of the family because she is religious.

Over the course of the dinner, these tensions keep rising to the surface, and we reach a break when Deirdre reads a letter from Momo before she lost her mind. Turns out she wanted to assure them that she’ll be okay in the end, and that they shouldn’t fight too much.

This leads to more opening up about said tensions and everyone’s issues. Richard goes straight for it and tells everyone he’s depressed, but then Erik takes some time to open up truly. He says he has nightmares about 9/11, then admits he had an affair that messed up his job and pension.

He also revealed he sold their lakehouse, which everyone loved, to be able to afford Momo’s care. He tells them that they are moved on from all of this, but the two sisters are absolutely unable to move on from this bombshell relevation.

The dinner ends, and everyone prepares to leave. Erik stays alone int he apartment, but he has a panic attack in the dark. Brigid finds him there, he gets himself together, and they leave together.

Overall Thoughts

This is one of those movies that you can just tell came from a piece of theatre. In this, it’s specifically from the dialogue. It’s very theatrical and flows well—that isn’t something that always comes across well in movies.

The way the film is blocked, too, is very theatrical. Because of this, The Humans might not be a movie for everyone, as others might find it too boring and stagnant, but there are a lot of meaningful messages packed into its run time.

I think it’s worth checking out if you have not already. I have so much love and appreciation for my local library, as they provide these movies with no cost. We need more of that, and libraries, in the world.

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