My Sister's Keeper Movie Review

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Director Nick Cassavetes returns with his screenwriting partner from The Notebook, Jeremy Leven, for My Sisters Keeper. The film is a shameless tearjerker that will make you cry, but believe me, you will not feel guilty from doing so.
Cassavetes smartly chose to frame My Sisters Keeper as a character-driven study. If he allowed the materials decidedly melodramatic nature rear its ugly head, then the film would have just been a Lifetime Movie Channel special. Instead, My Sisters Keeper is definitely a keeper and a great counterprogramming for those who wish to escape the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen crowd.
Based on the beloved novel by Jodi Picoult, the film posits a thought-provoking question: if one of your children is dying and is in need of a rare bone marrow match, would you order a doctor to make you a new child designed to help the sick one?
Thats the predicament that mom Sara Fitzgerald finds herself in. Played with headstrong conviction by Cameron Diaz, Sara, together with her husband Brian (Jason Patric in an understated but memorable performance), decide to conceive another child through genetic engineering in order to save their two-year-old daughter Kate. Anna will be Kates savior.
The narrative goes back and forth between past and present and interweaves family recollections by each character. Kate as a teenager is played by the amazing Sofia Vassilieva from the hit show Medium. She has a special bond with her sister Anna, played with charming ferocity by Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine). Completing the family is the long-neglected brother Jesse (Evan Ellingson).
My Sisters Keeper also explores the issue of how medical catastrophes can make or break a family. So what happens when Anna, now 11, decides she no longer wants to help her sister? Seeking medical emancipation, she hires her own lawyer, Campbell Alexander (Alec Baldwin). Thus, setting forth a court case that divides the family and could leave Kates rapidly failing body in the hands of fate.
From the opening scenes to the closing credits, Breslin anchors the film. The child actress can go from dramatic scene to a lighthearted moment without missing a beat. Her opening narration about being a baby born not from love but by design pulls you right into the movie.
Vassilieva gives heart and compassion to her dying daughter role. Her Kate is not a weakling but a teenager who loves life and is even given a chance to fall in love with fellow patient Taylor (Thomas Dekker). The actress is so motivated she even let the production shave her hair for the chemotherapy scenes.
But the real revelation is Diaz. Ive long suspected that she has an inner drama queen waiting to come out. The actress has always excelled in the few dramatic roles shes starred in such as The Gangs of New York and Vanilla Sky. In My Sisters Keeper, her character quits being a lawyer only to find herself back into the courtroom to defend her family. Watch Diaz effectively mix pathos and anger while questioning her own daughter Anna.




If I make the film sound like its a slash-your-wrist depressing drama, please forgive me. There are many funny moments in the movie to counterbalance its heavy emotional scenes. Baldwins character and his dog named Judge add some much-needed comic relief, as well as the amusing banters between the Fitzgerald siblings.
Im strongly recommending My Sisters Keeper not only to the fans of the book, but to moviegoers who want to escape the noisy, tedious sounds of summer blockbusters. The film is a surprisingly sweet offering that will challenge your own perceptions about family love, death and dying, and the true meaning of healing.
And for that, My Sisters Keeper gets 3 family bond kisses
MINOR SPOILER ALERT: The film veers away from the books original ending, and I particularly enjoy this decision. If the filmmakers stuck with Picoults conclusion, then the movie would end on a melodramatic note and waste the time you invested in the characters.

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[Poesghost]

You're review of this movie was spot on Manny. I loved this movie so much it had me in tears too. It is one of those movies you never forget and want to share with others. Very good performances too by all the cast. Mabuhay!!!

[mdelar]

@Poesghost Maraming Salamat :)

[GoldenCurtOffice]

In the movie anna is kate's "keeper" but in the book is kate who is annas siseter's keeper since anna dies and kate literally had anna inside of her.

[mdelar]

that's a smart assessment of the film and the book! thanks for sharing, and thanks for watching :) have a great week!

[dennc]

The performances are strong across-the-board. Cameron Diaz, best known for appearing in romantic comedies and lighthearted fare, shows dramatic chops in taking on a role that requires range and depth.Perhaps the most memorable sample of acting comes from Joan Cusack, who provides a heartbreaking interpretation of a bereaved judge. The pain in her eyes, which occasionally pool with tears, cannot fail to move. If there's an Oscar nomination lurking in this film, it should go to Cusack.

[mdelar]

You are absolutely correct! Joan Cusack has always been an exemplary actress! Thanks for watching and hope you're having a great weekend!!

[XXsavieXX]

THIS MOVIE MADE ME CRY IN THE THEATER!D:

So sad, but so so touching and moving!

[princessamy132]

i watched it in te cinema i was crying lyyk throughout the film soooo saad buut sooo good at thee samee timee!

[asooma125]

u were soo silly at the end LOOOSER

[HalloweensCoarpse]

i didn't like cameron diaz's acting bcuz she just seemed like a heartless mother in the movie & if u read the book,somehow she's more motherly.like in the movie wen they were gonna go out as a family & kate didnt want 2 bcuz she felt ugly,her mom waznt like,"just get ur ass out of the house" she waz more understanding.

[HalloweensCoarpse]

@GoldenCurtOffice the title of the book came from jesse tho wen he zaid something like "wat,am i my sister's keeper now?" so i thought he waz her keeper

[nicoleca0427]

@TAZSILLS alec baldwin 

[nicoleca0427]

@Poesghost I would read the book if you liked the movie, the book is so much better. And the ending is so different

[peacelovecheer3898]

WHERES JULIA??

[gangstagrlz]

@TAZSILLS Alec Baldwin?

[Lisaasaurus]

i thought the film was OK, but it really didn't do the book justice. For one they missed out Julia, who was for me massively important in developing campbell alexander as a character. and the ending was quite anticlimatic as the book had the twist of anna dying instead which was less obvious and very cleverly written.

[TAZSILLS]

Anyone know what the actors name is who played the lawyer?