In his Dinner With Friends film review, Chris Harrison calls it a “must-see” and “a great showcase for upcoming Canadian talent.”
In Dinner With Friends, there are no exposition dumps explaining how the group of friends at the center of the story came together, no dramatic retellings of past misadventures, and no flashbacks. The film, directed by Sasha Leigh Henry, creator of Bria Mack Gets A Life, drops the audience into the friends’ lives in their most joyous and vulnerable moments, and it trusts the audience to follow along as their relationships ebb and flow.
It’s a task made easier by a tight script and intimate camera work that makes each of the dinners between friends, shot in vignettes spanning months of the characters’ lives, feel real and lived-in.
The film has an ensemble cast, but the relationship between Malachi (Alex Spencer) and Joy (Tattiawna Jones) is in many ways the emotional core of the film, and Joy’s relationships with Malachi and Tristan (Andrew Bushell), formerly a valued member of the group who left without a word and returned just as suddenly, drives the plot.
Joy and Malachi are a believable married couple, comfortable ribbing each other, even as Malachi groans in pain after an injury. But a joke that crosses the line reveals the tension long bubbling beneath the surface.
Their biggest fight, spurned on by Joy’s resistance to welcome Tristan back into their social circle, is one of the highlights of the film. As they sit in the car, and Malachi raises his voice in frustration, the camera hangs out behind them, revealing only part of Malachi’s face and virtually none of Joy’s, as both character’s emotional states are conveyed just through their voices and body language. Only after the fight is done and Joy leaves the car does the audience see the hurt on Malachi’s face.
As the film goes on, tensions rise throughout the friend group, as their priorities clash. Kat (Tymika Tafari) is struggling to find a life of her own separate from her ailing mother. Tristan struggles with newfound responsibilities and the bumpy road to reconciliation with Joy, one of the people he trusts the most. And everyone is dealing with approaching middle age living a life that isn’t quite what they had expected, nor quite in line with their friends’ lifestyles.
Jones’ performance as Joy is one of the highlights of the film and her onscreen chemistry with Spencer is evident from the jump, equally affecting during moments of tenderness as it is during their clashes. She’s able to convey her character’s pain and joy with just a glance. Tafari is also excellent as Kat, who really shines in the scenes centered around her and her relationship with her mother.
The relationships between the characters—their laughter, their support for each other, their arguments—feel natural and earned, and the close-up camera work—always lingering for an extra bit on characters’ faces, giving room for the scene to breathe – heightens the sense of emotional intimacy, even as it loses a bit of steam toward the end.
Dinner With Friends captures a familiar brand of millennial angst — the fear of growing apart from friends, the feeling of those precious hangouts becoming less and less frequent, and struggling with transitioning into a new stage in life — with grace and humor.
It’s a highly relatable film, and not just because of the quips about Toronto traffic. Dinner With Friends will have you reaching to spark up your old group chat as soon as you walk out of the theater. It’s a must-see at this year’s TIFF and a great showcase for upcoming Canadian talent.
Related article: