Tahara Review: Messy Tale Of Love & Friendship Is Elevated By Its Two Leads

In many ways, Olivia Peace’s film Tahara is an enterprising project. It seeks to explore themes of sexuality, friendship, and death within its remarkably short runtime. Working off of an original script by Jess Zeidman, Peace dives headfirst into these murky areas and comes up with a movie that leaves no easy answers in its wake — and is all the more intriguing for it. Comparisons to the similarly-themed Shiva Baby are inevitable, but Tahara manages to be something very different. While some aspects might feel slight, Tahara is an engrossing coming-of-age tale bolstered by its distinctive visual style and well-matched leads.

Following the death of a classmate, best friends Carrie (Madeleine Grey DeFreece) and Hannah (Rachel Sennott) find themselves attending both her funeral and a “teen talk-back” at their local synagogue. The talk-back is aimed at helping the various teens process their supposed grief, but Hannah is more preoccupied with getting the attention of Tristan (Daniel Taveras), her longtime crush. In a moment of stunning ignorance, Hannah gets Carrie to kiss her to assess her skills. For Hannah, it’s a passing moment, but for Carrie, it leads to a surprising revelation that colors the rest of the agonizingly awkward talk-back

Tahara takes place entirely in the synagogue, which would normally run the risk of making a film feel too stagnant. Early on, though, Peace works against this by employing unique visual tricks. From weaving in animation to expanding the boxy aspect ratio during Carrie’s moments of self-discovery, Peace finds creative ways to show what the girls are thinking and feeling. Carrie gets the most internal exploration of the two leads in Tahara, which can be a bit frustrating for those who might wish to understand Hannah better. However, as Carrie is the de facto protagonist here, it makes sense that her journey would take center stage above all else.

DeFreece is more than up to the challenge of shouldering Carrie’s complicated emotions throughout Tahara. From her hopeful excitement over realizing she has feelings for Hannah to her unease as she learns what Hannah herself feels, DeFreece portrays Carrie’s arc with authenticity and earnestness that elevates Zeidman’s script. As the more polarizing Hannah, Sennott doesn’t back down from the messier aspects of her character; in fact, she slips into her role with ease. Sennott and DeFreece have a solid rapport together, though the friendship element of Carrie and Hannah’s relationship feels underdeveloped. Peace has a clever way of showing the ease with which they communicate in an early scene, hinting at a long history, but they still seem to be something missing in their bond.

Underneath its story of queer discovery and complicated friendships, Tahara also touches upon loss through the plot involving the deceased classmate. As none of the characters involved were particularly close with the girl, the audience only learns a handful of details about her. There are moments in Tahara that suggest Hannah could’ve had an impact on her passing, but the movie never fully delves into it. With such a short runtime, that’s understandable, but considering the nature of the classmate’s death (which was by suicide), Tahara could’ve perhaps grappled with this for a bit longer. It would’ve added more depth to the story overall.

Still, for what it sets out to do, Tahara succeeds. It captures the awkward nuances of queer self-discovery and doesn’t shy away from the thorny issues of a friendship that is perhaps more damaging than good. DeFreece and Sennott fit into their roles perfectly, while the rest of the supporting cast help to make Tahara feel lived-in. It is far from a typical coming-of-age movie, but that is what makes it such an intriguing snapshot. Audiences looking for a fresh filmmaking voice would be smart to listen to what Peace (and Zeidman, for that matter) have to say

Tahara was released in theaters on Friday, June 10. The film is 77 minutes long and is unrated.