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Manipulative 'Sister's Keeper' drains tear ducts
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Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin star as mother and daughter
in New Line Cinema's tearjerker "My Sister's Keeper."
It seems that every year a motion picture is released that defines the term tearjerker. "The Notebook," "A Walk to Remember" and "Nights in Rodanthe" all fall into that category.
New Line Cinema's new drama "My Sister's Keeper" is 2009's entry into said category. And while even a Transformer would need to bring along a buy-in-bulk-sized box of tissues to the flick, it simply does not cut it as a quality feature film.
The result here is manipulative cinema at its worst. Although it tries terribly hard to expose moviegoers to the tragic world of a family suffering the multitude of effects of cancer, it is all just an exercise in sadness.
Based on the novel by Jodi Picoult but straying about as far as a movie possibly can from its source material without requiring a change of title, "My Sister's Keeper" stars Sofia Vassileva as Kate, a young girl battling Leukemia. The film chronicles the ups and downs she experiences as well as what the disease does to each of her family members.
In the spotlight is Anna (Abigail Breslin), Kate's younger sister whose body has been keeping Kate alive since birth. The girls' parents literally "made" Anna in a Petri dish to be a donor child for Kate. A little blood and and lot of bone marrow later, Kate is depending on a kidney transplant from Anna to stop her body from shutting down once and for all.
But Anna claims she does not want to continue living just so her sister can, therefore she enlists the assistance of an attorney (Alec Baldwin) to sue her parents for medical emancipation. This results in all kinds of drama at home from the girls' mother (Cameron Diaz) who refuses to give up on Kate's life.
Meanwhile, the girls' father (Jason Patric) just wants to see Kate enjoy what little time she may have left, creating even more hostility in his wife. And the girls' brother Jesse (Evan Ellingson) has a learning disability that gets overshadowed by Kate's grand sickness.
Tracing the journey of this family in not-so-chronological order, "My Sister's Keeper" examines the unique dynamic of a family with the distinction of having a cancer patient among its members. However, where the novel explored each character's emotional and physical obstacles in-depth, this two-hour movie version instead focuses on Kate.
Without a doubt, Kate is a fascinating character and Vassileva portrays the girl with talent worthy of recognition come award-season. Yet, director screenwriter Nick Cassavetes misses the point of the source material. This is not a story about a young girl living with cancer; this is a story about a whole family living with cancer.
Jesse's storyline is reduced to an abbreviated enigma, Anna's role feels forced and both parents come off as cardboard cutouts that could be easily shifted across to any other movie about cancer. It is a huge disappointment considering "My Sister's Keeper" could have been tremendously special.
Nonetheless, there are plenty of moments which have the audience sniffling back tears. But most of these even appear inauthentic. The wise moviegoer will recognize when the filmmakers are tugging... no... yanking with all their might on their heartstrings.
On the other hand, scenes featuring Kate's relationship with fellow cancer patient Taylor (Thomas Dekker) are particularly genuine and special. And a bit showcasing the family's trip to the beach - and the drama leading up to it - is nearly worth the price of admission. They are brief glimpses at what "My Sister's Keeper" could have been if it had not taken the easy way out.
Sure, other theater patrons will be able to identify what movie you just saw as you exit based on your tear-drenched clothes. But if said movie plays it safe, is all that crying really worth it?
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