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A movie with tough subject matter made tougher to sit through by just how good it is.

Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, My Sister’s Keeper is the story of the Fitzgerald family.  More specifically, it is the story of the ability of the Fitzgerald family to handle the impending death of their oldest daughter, Kelly (Sofia Vassilevia).  Kelly was diagnosed with an acute an fatal form of leukemia as a young child and her mother (played beautifully by Cameron Diaz) decides that she will dedicate her life to saving her daughter.  The Fitzgerald family decides to have one more daughter, Anna (Abigail Breslin).  Anna is genetically bred to be a donor match for her sister and is expected to supply blood or any other genetic material that may be needed to save her sister on demand.  Eventually, Anna has enough and refuses to be used as an organ donor at the expense of a normal life.  She decides to hire a slick tv attorney (Alec Baldwin) to sure her parents for the right to make her own medical decisions.  Since Kelly will die without the help of her sister, you can imagine the problems this will cause for the entire family.

This is an emotionally brutal movie that is just scene after scene of triumph and heartbreak.  I normally don’t get emotionally attached during what would be considered “a chick flick” and this is most definitely one of those.  It is a difficult movie to sit through and there were times when I was more than a little choked up.  My Sister’s Keeper tries to pull too hard at the heart strings at times with flashbacks that seem designed less to tell a story and more to get an emotional response.  This is annoying and gives the movie a quirky and uneven feeling.  When the flashbacks work they add depth to the characters, when they don’t work they slow the momentum of the movie and seem manipulative.  Luckily, this doesn’t happen often enough detract from the best parts of the movie.  The material presented in the movie is hard to swallow, is not for the meek at heart, and is not cut and dried as it would seem.  My opinion of the subject matter and of a few of the characters changed a few times during the film.  If you are looking for an hour and a half of a good time that you can just forget about over dinner with the wife you probably should go see something else.  This film is by no means fun and at the very least an uncomfortable, but thought provoking experience. 

The two things that separate this film from a lifetime movie of the week are the actors playing each of the characters and how natural most of the movie feels. I can’t say a bad thing about any of the main characters.  Cameron Diaz surprised me as a mother that would do anything for her daughter.  At first stubborn, angry, and a bit of a bitch, she eventually becomes the most sympathetic character in the film.  And I think that is all her.  It is probably her best performance to date.  Abigail Breslin (Anna Fizgerald) is heartbreaking and absolutely believable in the movie. Sofia Vassilevia broke my heart as a teenager that knew she was dying and was willing to be the emotional center of a family that was falling apart.  Even characters that were secondary to the plot like the father (Jason Patrick) and the all but abandoned older brother (Evan Ellingson) pull off wonderful performances and are important in their own way
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A few years ago I saw a film called Funny Games.  The only reason this little horror movie stuck with me is because it felt real.  It was difficult to disconnect myself from the fantasy of a horror movie, which was the intention of the director.  My Sister’s Keeper does the same thing.  While, again there are moments that seem just a bit too sentimental and pulled together for effect, there are more than a few moments that just feel real.  Part of that can be attributed to the wonderful acting involved, but part of that has to be the way Nick Cassavetes lets large parts of the movie flow together.  It’s easy to forgive the portions of the film that don’t work for a chance to see a family dealing with a real problem.  A problem that comes across onscreen as very real. 

While My Sister’s Keeper is a very good movie overall, I am not sure who I would recommend it to.  The movie is too much like a therapy session than a nice night out.  If you think you are up to the subject matter then by all means see it. Just know that you were warned in advance. 

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