A Symphony of Sniffles

I had written about My Sister’s Keeper in anticipation of its release, so it’s only right I’d follow up with a review. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The film just sort of missed its mark. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that it was structured too novel-esque. The movie is based on Jodi Picoult’s novel, and too often movies completely stray from their literary origins. So you’d think one that remained more loyal to the text would be a welcome change. Well, just a second. Director Nick Cassavetes used a technique that, in theory, might have seemed quite interesting. But it just didn’t play well. He moved the film along by having the different characters narrate their thoughts and the past with language that sounds like it’s straight from the book. Ugh. It just pulled the movie down whenever it was going at a nice pace. It was awkward and clunky. It made the movie less poignant coming of age tale and more Lifetime documentary. And if Cassavetes was using this technique to convey information, which I assume he was, it was unnecessary. Rule number one - or at least three or something - of screenwriting is to show, not tell. So much of what was blandly read to us by Abigail Breslin or Alec Baldwin could have been shown.

My second issue is that our main girl, Kate, who is dying of Leukemia, is just not relatable enough. You just don’t fall for her - which is awful, I know, to say about a character dying of cancer at the age of fifteen. So, of course it’s tragic and moving, but there’s a disconnect with the character that prevents really feeling for her. And it’s not actress Sofia Vassilieva’s fault. On the contrary, the young actress brings as much life to the role as the script will let her. She is a sort of glow throughout the film, and she is so real and so beautiful. But the way the role is written, Kate just never feels all the way real. It is a wonderful characteristic of Kate that she is the strength of her family crumbling around her impending death, and that she has a grace and calm resolution about her, but she’s still a teenager staring at death. She needs to have some kind of fear, or small meltdown to prove her reality. There would be more feeling there if this was a more believable role.

However, cast members like Abigail Breslin, Evan Ellingson the teenage brother, Jason Patric as the father, Cameron Diaz (who actually acted in this) as the mother, Joan Cusack as a traumatized judge, and Alec Baldwin as the lawyer, Thomas Dekker Kate’s also cancer-ridden boyfriend…they shone, and carried the film when it fell. I believe this group of people could have read anything on screen and it would have been powerful. While you might not feel exactly for Kate, you will feel for the people around her that are struggling to handle this.

And certain parts of the film are written beautifully and will really strike you. At one point Kate is worrying to her mother that her boyfriend hasn’t called her in three days. This is such a common conversation, one that every girl will at some point have with her mother or friend at least once. There are always the speculations: does he not like me anymore? Did he meet another girl? Did I do something wrong? But here you realize that death is actually an option. It’s a real possibility that her boyfriend isn’t calling because he’s died. It’s a shocking concept to wrap your head around, but it’s life to so many young people with terminal illnesses. It might have been the saddest realization of the entire film, and it really hit home. So bravo there.

I also liked how there was a real Cassavetes feel to the movie, it made it authentic. I happen to be a fan of John Cassavetes, and that style is missing from movies today. But Nick brought that romantic, painterly aesthetic to some scenes, kind of reminded me of A Woman Under the Influence. Anyway, the film is definitely worth seeing, but I’d wait to rent it instead of seeing it in theaters.

July 15th, 2009 by Courtney Iseman | Posted in Reviews, Uncategorized | (0)