Film Review: IN HER NAME: An Affecting Portrait of a Sisterhood Immersed in Art [Tribeca 2022]

In Her Name Review

In Her Name (2022) Film Review from the 21st Annual Tribeca Film Festival, a movie written and directed by Sarah Carter and starring Erin Hammond, Ciera Danielle, Philippe Caland, Nyambi Nyambi, James Aaron Oliver, Sarah Carter, Jay Montalvo, Juliette Beavan, Charlie Farrell, Elena Chernyavskaya, Raquel Horsford and Imogene Elias.

Filmmaker Sarah Carter uses glorious black and white to her full advantage in the emotional and captivating new dramatic picture, In Her Name. Actress Ciera Danielle is the movie’s most terrific revelation and her performance in this film is absolutely charismatic and believable. She is cast opposite Erin Hammond who also does a nice job in the picture as her sister. It is the bond formed between the two characters these fine performers play that make In Her Name a movie that is surely worth seeing.

As the film opens, we meet Fiona (Ciera Danielle), a dark haired, middle-aged woman from Minneapolis who arrives in L.A. at the home where her sister Freya (Hammond) is living with their terminally ill artist father Marv (Philippe Caland). Why is Fiona there? She has been contacted by the IRS regarding the fact that monies are owed on the home which is technically Fiona’s. One wonders right away what has led to this scenario. Considering the distance Fiona has kept from her dad and her sister for years, it seems Fiona wants to get back home to her other family (her husband and her son) as soon as possible. She just wants her sister and their dad to leave the house so it can be sold. Marv isn’t so eager to leave, though.

One of Marv’s close confidantes, Peter (James Aaron Oliver) wonders if Fiona is truly happy. Fiona believes she is happy but when she calls her established family, her son won’t even talk to her. It is revealed that Fiona and Freya’s mom (Carter, herself) had mental problems and the movie explores the relationship between the sisters as it is slowly re-established during the course of the movie.

There are many gorgeously shot scenes in this film. One involving a picnic the characters go on is very captivating as is a visit to a museum later in the movie. While the development of Fiona is the most fascinating accomplishment that this movie does so well, Freya is equally compelling. Freya and her partner Judah (Nyambi Nyambi) are especially intriguing characters that stand out significantly and the scenes between them are both plausible and well acted.

Peter tries to seduce Fiona in the film and this section of the movie makes one understand how out of touch Fiona is with her emotions and her wants as well as her deepest desires. While she loves her family, she has been going through the motions in her life and the past has a lot to do with that. As Marv and Freya become stronger driving forces in her life, Fiona grows as a character right before our eyes. It is to Danielle’s credit that this character is so successful and under Carter’s accomplished direction, the movie takes its audience on an emotional journey to help in understanding the true value of family.

There aren’t a lot of major plot developments throughout the picture but there are plenty of major changes in the characters as events in the movie progress. As Marv, Freya and Fiona become reunited as a family, audience members will find their relationship oddly affecting, perhaps even enough to warrant an overwhelming emotional response to the material.

As Peter, Oliver is perfectly cast and is a character who serves as a catalyst for Fiona to find her true self and discover things about herself which she never realized before. The bond between Freya and Fiona works terrifically in this picture as the later scenes truly bring these two women to the realization that they have more in common than they may have originally believed at the beginning of the film.

Ciera Danielle is the major discovery that In Her Name presents to the audience and she is simply amazing on screen. All her awkwardness is superbly captured by the actress in the opening stages of the picture. Erin Hammond as, perhaps, the tougher sister is also splendid in terms of the way she realizes her character and the scenes between Danielle and Hammond are like a beautifully conducted symphony filling the screen with emotions that will certainly move the viewer.

Philippe Caland is also well cast as the artistically inclined, widely celebrated Marv. It is revealed that Marv’s daughters’ mother served as a tremendous inspiration for his work. This movie keeps the viewer watching to discover all the little tidbits behind the relationship Marv had with the mother that help tie up some of the movie’s loose ends as the film reaches its touching climax.

While In Her Name may initially seem a little slight to some viewers, it is the type of movie that will grow on the audience as its story line develops over the course of the picture. It’s great to see such freedom of artistic expression in a film and it’s even better to see a performance like Ciera Danielle’s in this splendidly photographed picture. Danielle commandeers the movie all the way through with a star-making performance that will leave viewers emotionally satisfied by the film’s touching conclusion.

Rating: 8.5/10

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