Movie Review: Hier.Na
One-liner: Solid performances, relatable characters and a curious cultural immersion compel this respectable and straightforward ensemble drama.
Hier.Na (Hereafter) is a drama about a culturally-blended family who must navigate years of discord in order to adhere to Muslim customs. When a non-practicing mother suddenly dies, it’s up to her online gamer son, medical student daughter and husband to make the funeral arrangements. When Julie’s mother sweeps in to make sure her daughter’s buried before sunset, the Burgess family find themselves scrambling as they make peace with her passing and try to observe customs.
This is a film from actress turned filmmaker Quanita Adams. Having racked up 40 acting credits across film and television, Adams has leaned into more behind-the-scenes creative work in recent years, culminating in her feature film debut after the TV movie, Swirl. Her experience shines through, managing to coax excellent work from her ensemble as well as operate as a team player on both sides of the camera.
Having featured in Barakat, one can see how her involvement may have inspired or spurred her on to Hier.Na. Barakat is a film written and directed by Amy Jephta about a matriarch’s attempts to unite her dysfunctional family in order to break some surprising news over Eid-al-Fitr. A comedy drama, Barakat centres on a primary residence and immerses audiences in the cultural and religious practices of a suburban Muslim family.
Barakat and Hier.Na have their similarities in terms of setting, characters and ensemble but the point of departure is the funeral. An eye-opening and fascinating tradition for those outside the faith, this serves as a timeframe to compel the drama with a few dabs of dark comedy. Trying to grieve, make sense of the preparations and bid farewell to mom, the moving parts keep Hier.Na curious and layered as characters try to cope in their own way.
“I suppose you’re wondering why I called this meeting…”
Having Quanita Adams, David Isaacs and June van Merch in pivotal roles keeps Hier.Na on the pulse. Much like the Ricky Gervais series After Life, Adams has a short time to charm audiences with Juliegha or Julie’s role as a lovable daughter, mother and wife. This device is the heart of Hier.Na as she becomes the missing puzzle piece.
It’s up to Isaacs to hold the fort as the conflicted, out-of-his-depth and secular Eric while Julie’s mother takes charge with another headstrong performance from van Merch. A broad ensemble stretches things with less screen time for Shiefaa Hendricks, Lyle October and Emile Smit whose level-headed supporting performances still add texture and value. Having so many characters and faces adds to the human interest and community feel of this story, filling the frame with life.
While Hier.Na has the burial-before-sunset time constraint, the stakes aren’t quite high enough. There’s a cinematic quality to the visuals as the film reconfigures the claustrophobia of having a family home overrun with people. The performances are solid and the cultural immersion is authentic and intimate as the fly-on-the-wall drama plays out. Yet, the real battleground is inner turmoil and this conflict simmers with distractions.
Perhaps a greater focus on the nuclear family and their attempts to handle the precarious situation would’ve given Hier.Na the character depth and drama it craves. Eric’s character serves a similar ringmaster role to Jason Bateman in Arrested Development with a nuanced performance from Isaacs but there aren’t enough points of identification for true emotional investment.
A few shared moments in the third act offer glimmers of this potential but would have been more moving with greater bonds of connection. As a low-key home invasion, the script doesn’t mine the comedy enough to generate this kind of heartfelt entertainment value. On the other side of the spectrum, it also doesn’t spiral out of control enough to go into the pure lunacy of films like Mother!. Taking a subtle approach, Hier.Na gently touches on themes without overpowering audiences.
Having to walk this line of due reverence keeps things respectful but does limit Hier.Na to predictable and safe spaces. There’s definitely an audience for this film who want to see a story from an underrepresented community. Proving a market for this drama will expand horizons and open up more opportunities but the sacrifice is having this competent drama exist within a safe middle ground.
The bottom line: Respectable