New Line Cinema | 2009 | 109 mins. | Rated PG-13
Directed by Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook), My Sister’s Keeper is based on a 2004 novel by Jody Picoult of the same name. Cassavetes makes it clear from the beginning that this is going to be a multi-hanky picture, as we learn that a couple had a daughter, who is now 11-years old who was genetically engineered to save the life of her 16-year old sister who is dying of cancer. While the younger sister is perfect match, she has endured years of painful surgeries to save her sibling, leaving her feeling like little more than a spare parts depot. This sounds like a story with possibilities; perhaps Terms of Endearment with a twist. Unfortunately, the story ends up feeling so contrived and manipulative, it loses much of its emotional impact.
The Fitzpatrick’s, Sara (Cameron Diaz), a former lawyer, and Brian (Jason Patric), a fireman, have a sixteen-year-old daughter, Kate (Sofia Vassilieva), dying of leukemia. When doctors first diagnosed Kate with cancer about a decade earlier, the parents decided to have another child, Anna (Abigail Breslin), primarily to use as a donor for the sister. The idea is for Anna to provide any blood, bone marrow, or other vital life saving materials Kate may need. For years, things proceed along just as the girl’s parents hoped they would. But now as Anna’s grown older, she’s grown weary of all the procedures. Though she loves her sister dearly, she longs for a normal life, free of the constant needles and operations.
With a heavy heart, but obvious determination, Anna scrounges together some money, and approaches a lawyer Campbell Alexander (Alec Baldwin), to help her get “medical emancipation,” so that she can’t be forced to give Kate, who is in the throes of renal failure, a kidney. All of this happens in the first fifteen minutes of the film, so don’t watch My Sister’s Keeper if you’re feeling a little bit down. Anyway, the resulting family conflict and legal case presided over by Judge De Salvo (Joan Cusack), who recently lost a child of her own to a drunk driver, are used as a framing device from which flashbacks from the perspectives of all of the family members fill in the details of their ups and downs over the preceding decade.
Lord knows there’s nothing wrong with a good tearjerker, but My Sister’s Keeper is simply over the top. Cassavetes (who also co-wrote the screenplay with Jeremy Leven) seems determined to generate emotion from viewers at every turn. By doing this, even those that like these kind of films are likely to be exhausted before the 45-minute mark; the premise of the story is powerful enough, you don’t need to hit people over the head with it. The actors do a pretty good job with the material their given, but all of the characters are pretty poorly developed. The mother Sara is perhaps the most troubling; her views are so skewed that she’s transformed from a conflicted parent into a despondent villain. Brian is overwhelmed but level-headed; however, he disappears into the foreground of the story for much of the film. Kate, quiet and accepting, is just trying to keep the family together. Anna is a free spirit, looking to break free frim the burdens placed on her before she was even born. Then there’s the shockingly underdeveloped brother Jesse (Evan Ellingson), who runs away for three days, but we’re never told what that’s about.
I suppose it would be easier to go on this journey with the Fitzpatrick’s if the filmmakers had given viewers something to really grab onto. In the end, the script has so many characters in it, we never get the chance to get to know any one of them very well. Hardship, after hardship is difficult for an audience to take, especially if we haven’t had enough time with the main characters to decide who to root for. My guess is, fans of the book will want to check this one out, but others will find it to maudlin and overwrought for their tastes.
My Sister’s Keeper comes to Blu-ray via a single-layer BD25 and a VC-1 codec to reproduce the movie in its original 2.40:1 aspect ratio. The transfer is suitable, but not fantastic. Colors, while deep, appear oversaturated and unrealistic on occasion. The definition ranges from near perfect to soft and hazy. Flesh tones tend to take on a reddish tone throughout the film. Thankfully, artifacting, banding, crush, and source noise are never a problem, and the ringing and aliasing that appear are so negligible.
My Sister’s Keeper offers a proficient Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround track makes the most of its limited opportunities, creating a fairly immersive soundfield. Dialogue is crisp and perfectly prioritized, pans are smooth, and directionality, while limited, is up to the task. LFE output is curbed, and the rear speakers are assigned little responsibility, but the film doesn’t call for anything more.
The disc offers English and French spoken languages; French subtitles; and English captions for the hearing impaired. The keep case announces the languages and subtitles in English and Spanish, but the disc contains English and French, no Spanish.
The Blu-ray edition of My Sister’s Keeper arrives with a pair of rather brief special features:
• From Picoult to Screen (HD 14 minutes) Pretty standard EPK stuff about the author, and what a joy it was bringing her book to the screen.
• Eight Deleted Scenes (SD 16 Minutes)
*A Digital Copy of the film is also included.
My Sister’s Keeper is available now, on Blu-ray, DVD, On Demand and Digital Download.
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