Lisa Cholodenko makes films about queer lives and difficult families, giving actors room to make their complications felt. We rate her attention to emotional detail, and her willingness to let sexuality be one part of a character.
Fi1m perspective
A lesbian couple and their family are enough to occupy The Kids Are All Right (2010); Cholodenko does not need to make sexuality their only subject. She is interested in the complications of living closely with other people, and she gives actors room to make those complications felt. We rate that attention to performance. It allows queer characters to have lives beyond explaining who they are.
Six Feet Under (2001), for which she directed episodes, offers a useful measure of both the appeal and the risk of spending so much time with difficult families. We were moved by the Fishers’ grief because the ensemble makes room for comedy without making their pain seem trivial. They are exhausting company, but the sharp acting earns the hours spent with them. The series also lets its brooding become an indulgence, and we sometimes wished it would get on with things. We are judging the whole programme here, not assigning every strength or weakness to one of its directors.
Her features began with High Art (1998), which she wrote and directed, followed by Laurel Canyon (2002), about generational and cultural clashes in Los Angeles. The Kids Are All Right marked the breakthrough; intimate relationships remained her chief subject. Her collaborators include screenwriter Stuart Blumberg and actor Frances McDormand. The work is worth following for the actors, particularly when Cholodenko has an ensemble to work with.
The later move into limited series suits that patience with character. The four-part Olive Kitteridge (2014) gives her space to balance several perspectives and changes of tone. On Unbelievable (2019), she directed the first three episodes and served as executive producer. Longer storytelling is no automatic advantage, as our reservations about Six Feet Under suggest. Start with The Kids Are All Right for the performances; tolerance for difficult family company will also serve you well.
Biography
Lisa Cholodenko is an American film and television director and screenwriter. She directed an episode of the HBO series Six Feet Under in 2001.
She wrote and directed the feature films High Art (1998), Laurel Canyon (2002) and The Kids Are All Right (2010). Her television work includes directing episodes of Homicide: Life on the Street, The L Word, Hung and The Girl from Plainville, as well as the miniseries Olive Kitteridge (2014) and Unbelievable (2019).
Cholodenko studied at San Francisco State University and received an MFA from Columbia University. She has received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations, and won an Emmy Award and a Directors Guild of America Award.
