In Azazel Jacobs’ recently released Netflix film “His Three Daughters,” an anticipatory grief hangs over the drama like a shroud falling in agonizing slow motion. This is a concept Natasha Lyonne knows well. Her own life has hung precariously in the balance on more than one occasion, with her heroin addiction in the early 2000s and subsequent open-heart surgery in 2012 well documented, but in a recent piece for The New York Times, Lyonne expanded on her understanding, describing it as something that’s much larger than just death.
“We don’t talk about the fact that we’re in a constant state of ongoing grief for, like, the moment that has passed,” Lyonne said. She added later of not taking time to process different forms of hardship, “It’s just sort of normalized, that we should accept it.”
Adding to her “hot takes on how we’re doing life wrong,” Lyonne explained that her reasoning for taking on more “grown-up acting” like in “His Three Daughters,” which she also serves as a producer on, is not out of fear over her own mortality, but to make the most of every moment she does have.
“The thing that I have a beef about is not actually death,” she said. “It’s time.”
Jacobs shared with The New York Times that the idea of time as a threat and a release was something extremely prevalent for him as he crafted this story in that he was “chasing this kind of strange effect that time has, when you’re dreading someone’s passing,” but at the same time preparing yourself for it to happen.
Not dwelling on her own possible passing, Lyonne is moving forward with projects like Season 2 of “Poker Face,” as well as what she hopes will be her directorial debut, another piece that aims to examine the concept of time.
“If you’re a dog person, then you’re going to love it, because it plays with time, just like dog years do,” Lyonne said. “It’s heavy, if you’re a heavy cat, and if you’re an even heavier cat — well, it’s a comedy.”
She’s unsure if the film will ever see the light of day or if it will take on a new form, but doesn’t seem too worried about it. Lyonne said to The New York Times, “I don’t really take too seriously a pass as a failure. I have a lived experience that it’s actually not how it works. It just hasn’t found its correct permutation yet.”
“His Three Daughters” is currently streaming on Netflix.
