A brief trip back home turns into a longer stay when Eric finds himself caught between catching up with his two sisters and conquering his old poker group. The more Eric extends his visit to prove that he is still the best poker player in town, the harder it becomes to steer clear of the old fault lines in his relationship with his sister Rachel. As their little sister Maggie attempts to recreate the intimate world they once shared, Eric and Rachel are faced with the divide between their childhood selves and the adults they have now become. Displaying all the sensitivity and wicked humour of his previous works, Dustin Guy Defa’s new film is a shrewd study of the pitiless condition known as adulthood. After growing up in a family unit that constitutes your whole world, with its particular set of habits and a shared language, crossing the border into the realm of adults can feel disempowering, even terrifying. A sense of loss may be difficult to ever really overcome. The film’s meticulous structure and novelistic depth lay bare this fundamental fear, but also the resources that exist to fight it. Setting about this treasure hunt deep within as individuals and as a family is an admirable trio of actors whose interpretation is as nuanced as it is poignant.
