My Sister’s Keeper

Year: 2009

Grade: C-

Country: USA

Director: Cassavetes

Review

i’m not a huge fan of john cassavetes, which i guess is a bad thing for a film person to admit. his son nick, who directs this film, is also not great in my book. i’ve heard that the notebook is great, but i’ve never seen it. john q. tugged on my heart strings, but i attributed that to the father/son angle and denzel’s performance. alpha dog had some moments but wasn’t very good overall. here, cassavetes, tries to pull on the heart strings once more. he goes straight to the big guns by pulling out the cancer card and giving it to a young girl. the cancer tears her family apart and drama ensues. the cast is all pretty decent given the material. baldwin is a standout in the film’s only comedic-ish role.

unfortunately, cassavetes doesn’t handle the subject with the right touch, instead we get the standard cancer sob story. it’s just not pulled off well. in the right director’s hands the film could have been more realistic and touching. that said, there are going to be a lot tissues used by the women this film is targeted towards. and if you know anyone close to you who has had cancer then it’s likely to tug on you for that reason alone, just remember that it’s not because the film is actually any good.

Watched in theater