Shiva Baby shows viewers instantly the type of movie it is going to be. The establishing shot is a long handheld shot, stationed in one place. This scene is uncomfortable enough as it is—viewers feel almost like voyeurs, as they are seeing and hearing something so intimate, so private. While making small talk, Danielle tells Max about a funeral that she is supposed to be attending, and she lies to him about her plans. The handheld shot creates the effect that the viewer is spying, a fly on the wall. Handheld shots are typically used in this way, or to make an audience feel more connected to a scene or characters. The use of the ‘shaky cam’ technique raises the intensity and intimacy of this opening. 

The opening is not the last time this technique is used. In every scene where Danielle speaks privately with her girlfriend, Maya, the handheld camera is utilized. It is paired with close-up shots, rarely seeing more than the characters' heads to the tip of their shoulders. Using these techniques together again creates that sense of intimacy, forcing the viewer to feel as if they are being suffocated. It isolates the characters from the rest of the funeral, highlighting the importance and urgency of the conversations happening. During these scenes, there are jump cuts to other people at the funeral. Little pieces remind the viewer of the setting, that there is more to the scene than the intimate conversation being focused on.  

In the scene where Danielle and her parents speak to Max for the first time, Danielle and Max are framed in these extreme, shaky close ups. Danielle’s parents are at a regular close up, chest and up, while Danielle and Max are focused right on their necks and faces. It helps us understand the stress that both characters are feeling in that moment. This scene is followed by another long, shaky, uncomfortable close-up of Danielle. She is eating while Max speaks to her parents in the background. Again, the viewer is a fly on the wall. While it is not a point of view shot, the viewer really sympathizes with Danielle in that moment, and feels as if they are standing there, watching, and listening to the events unfold as if they are next to it. 

The movie uses these techniques throughout the entire film, to an extreme at times. During scenes where Danielle is talking to Maya, the close shots are used to build tension. It creates a feeling that the viewer is there with the characters, that they are an attendant at this funeral. It is overwhelming. The viewer wants to leave the situation, wants to be able to get up and walk away from the uncomfortable, loud, close conversation. But the viewer, like Danielle, cannot leave. She is forced to face the consequences of her own actions, forced to confront the parts of her life she once thought separate. The close shots are often used in these tense scenes to really drive home the discomfort not just Danielle, but every character is feeling during these uncomfortable moments. 

Shiva Baby’s use of close-up and handheld shot techniques forces viewers into an intense, uncomfortable experience. They are forced to face truths from an eye-level view, as if they are there with the characters, as if it is a point of view of a character that is never shown. It creates a sense that the viewer, much like Danielle, can do nothing to escape the unfolding chaos happening. The close shots make the viewer feel as if they are a character that is never shown, forced to be eye level and close to the characters as they face extremely uncomfortable and tense situations with no resolution in sight. Other times, such as the opening scene, the viewer is watching from a distance. Still forced to see something uncomfortable, but it shifts from being involved in the conversation to feeling like you are eavesdropping on the characters, seeing something you are not meant to see. The handheld aspect aids both distances in adding an extra shaky layer of discomfort. Shiva Baby is a deeply immersive film that ties its storyline and filmmaking together beautifully.