Take the cringe-inducing stress brought on by a family member’s funeral from Shiva Baby and combine it with a Succession-style squabble for children’s inheritance, and you’ll have the new film Trust. Trust tells the story of a contentious family that struggles to stay together after a shocking twist in the matriarch’s inheritance instructions that leaves a father and siblings’ bond fractured. Heartfelt, humorous, and emotionally cathartic, Trust bravely reflects the messiness of real life and how we struggle to move ahead through overwhelming times.

With her blazer, blouse, and serious demeanor, youngest daughter Kate (Jennifer Levinson) practices a debate speech in a mirror, until she receives a phone call that levels her: “Kate, Mom’s dead.” Dazed, Kate returns home to reunite with Josh (Heston Horwin), her middle brother whom she’s closest with. A data analyst with a level head, Josh keeps his emotions (and drinking) at bay, organizing the funeral with the rabbi (Adam El-Sharkawi) while Kate sneaks cigarettes and swigs of booze. Something beyond her mother’s passing clearly unsettles her: could it be something to do with their absent father, who they’ve noticeably cut out of the funeral planning process?

In comforting (and comically portrayed) fashion, a flurry of family and friends from the Jewish community arrive with food and condolences. The funeral is a solemn affair, leading Kate to remark how their mother would roll over in her casket if she saw it, to which Josh informs her: “Kate, Mom was cremated.” This classic lapse in family communication boils over when the eldest daughter Trini (Kate Spare) arrives, storming in with her shock of blonde hair, and immediately heads to the podium to express her heartbreak through cringeworthy, off-key singing.

As the family precedes to sit shiva (where cinematographer Sten Olson‘s impressively staged one-shot ties many people and backstories together), Trini, Kate, and Josh reconnect with their estranged father (Linden Ashby), whose arrival throws the night into further chaos. While he’s obviously remorseful, Kate is left seething by her father’s presence, revealing a grave betrayal he’s made against them.

All of which leads to the reading of their late mother’s trust. While the kids are ready to receive their share of the inheritance, they are met with the surprising news that their parents didn’t finish signing those divorce papers years ago, leaving all of the assets to Dad, who’s now choosing to withhold all of the money from them. Their financial security suspended and world upended, and the family fractures.

Beyond starring in the film, Jennifer Levinson’s emotionally brave screenplay fearlessly tackles such topics as fraught family dynamics, infidelity, suicide, and substance abuse head-on. What’s even more impressive is how Levinson writes a wide variety of well-developed characters with rich backstories we can sympathize with, who otherwise could have been one-dimensional stand-ins.

Much like families themselves, Trust offers a wide range of emotions. Director Almog Avidan Antonir balances cringe-inducing humor and highly dramatic moments, frontloading the film early on with quick-paced screwball antics when things are at their dizziest. Eventually, however, the pace slows and they are forced to sit with the uncomfortable drama they eventually find they cannot escape. As we sit through their growing discomfort, we understand that things can’t be laughed off so easily and that pain needs to be accepted so one can move on.

Bringing the film to life are terrific and authentic performances. In the lead role of Kate, Jennifer Levinson brings a fresh realness and vulnerability that should put audiences on notice. As Josh, Heston Horwin is a true force, bringing a commanding presence and strength that gives way to the insecurities he later explores. As Trini, Kate Spare provides the right level of comic relief that also reveals a sympathetic and well-rounded character.

Trust is a rich drama and exploration into how messy family dynamics can be, and how we try to move on in the face of that reality. Exploring themes of grief and forgiveness makes for a real catharsis that will move audiences. Trust won both the Audience Award and the New Visions Award at the Cinequest Film Festival.