Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Rest of Us’ on Hulu, a Strong Feminist Drama About Four Women and the Dead Man Who Brought Them Together

Now that it’s free for Hulu subscribers, a thoughtful drama like The Rest of Us might find the audience it deserves. The feature debut from director Aisling Chin-Yee is headlined by Heather Graham, who leads a multi-generational cast of four actresses playing women at an awkward crossroads. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2019 before transitioning to VOD, and now, Hulu; the intimacy of home viewing may be the perfect context for appreciating its modest ambitions.

THE REST OF US: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: They all have one thing in common: a not-so-great man. Cami (Graham) is his ex-wife, 40-something, a highly successful children’s-book writer and illustrator. Their daughter is Aster (Sophie Nelisse), 19 or 20, in the summer between her freshman and sophomore years at college. Rachel (Jodi Balfour) was the younger other woman, maybe 30 now, and his second wife; their daughter together is Talulah (Abigail Pniowsky), who’s about eight or nine, right on the cusp of losing some innocence.

There was infidelity, acrimony, alimony and now, death. He passed suddenly. Cami and Aster nurse a stew of complicated emotions that have been brewing for a decade, but carry themselves with equal parts respect, caution and trepidation while attending the wake, in the house they used to live in, now occupied by his new family. Rachel and Tallulah’s home isn’t theirs for much longer, though — he kept secrets from them, too. For reasons undisclosed, he considerable wealth is gone. The house? Foreclosed. Life insurance? Defaulted. They spend a night in their BMW, which won’t be theirs for much longer, either.

When Cami catches wind of their dilemma, something resembling mercy bubbles to the top of that mixed-feelings stew. She opens the doors to the very large home-with-an-infinity-pool her lucrative career and $4,000 monthly child-support payments bought. Aster is mortified, especially since the Airstream trailer on the property that gives her a bit of freedom from her codependent mother is being handed over to That Woman and her child. Rachel is embarrassed but in a pinch — she has no family, and her friends disowned her for being a “homewrecker.” Talulah is just… young. Young and grieving, and in need of some semblance of stability. Comfortable, simple, peaceful, this situation is not. But maybe they’ll realize that women sticking together and embracing their commonalities is better than carrying grudges and nurturing strife.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: The Rest of Us is a lighter, simpler spiritual cousin of Kelly Reichardt’s Certain Women, and its assured emphasis on telling a female-centric story brings to mind indie dramedies Buffaloed and To the Stars. It also shares some tonal similarities to Pamela Adlon’s wonderful, extraordinary, very very special TV series Better Things.

Performance Worth Watching: Although all four principals are strong, Graham shows the most nuance thanks to a well-written adult-in-the-room role.

Memorable Dialogue: Aster, learning that her father had a heart attack and drowned while in the bathtub: “I didn’t even know he took baths.”

Sex and Skin: None.

Our Take: The Rest of Us is across-the-board strong — a sharp and occasionally funny script, layered performances, astute subtext and clear, understated visual presentation. Each of the four primary characters enjoys a level of complexity fitting the larger narrative arc, and that the movie accomplishes so much in its brief 80 minutes speaks mountains of Chin-Yee’s economical filmmaking.

Cami seems to have it all together and is capable of being the bigger person, although she isn’t above occasional pettiness or personal stumbles (there has to be a tiny part of her that’s more than happy to show off her gorgeous home to the homeless Rachel). Aster is in some ways a typical spoiled, self-involved teenager, but her desire to drop out of college is reflected in Rachel’s dilemma: suddenly widowed and broke, she needs to find that thing she’s never really had, a job. And Talulah still speaks of her father in the present tense; part of the movie’s quiet tension lies in how much of her innocence will survive the current discord.

Although Alanna Francis’ screenplay indulges some too-tidy, overly symmetrical contrivances in the third act, it never lets us lose sight of the characters, or the reasons to sympathize with them. The emphasis isn’t plot, but detail and nuance, and how kindness, grace and forgiveness are the ultimate goals for fundamentally good people. The Rest of Us is a rarity — a movie without clear-cut heroes or villains.

Our Call: STREAM IT. The Rest of Us is an intimate drama that engages us for 80 minutes, and leaves us both satisfied, but also wanting a little more.

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com or follow him on Twitter: @johnserba.

Watch The Rest of Us on Hulu