“My Sister’s Keeper” was written by Jodi Picoult depicting the emotional journey of a family with cancer. In real life, when one member has cancer, the whole family is afflicted. If you’ve read any of Jodi Picoult’s books, they tend to be narrated by the characters as they deal with some uncomfortable facets of life. Seeing life struggles through the eyes of someone else can help us see our own path more clearly. In this way, “My Sister’s Keeper” struck a deep cord within each person in the audience at my showing. My rating: $7.75 (1.-10.).
One of Picoult’s first books, ‘The Lovely Bones’ has the protagonist narrating the events up to, through, and after her untimely death. I enjoyed the book overall while still not being gripped as I would have desired. For me, it was rather like reading a terrible newspaper account of a tragedy mixed with the girl’s diary.
I must divest that I work with severely afflicted children for a living, which has taken some of the horror of it all away. As other people remark how hard it must be to do my job, I wonder how they cannot see the joy in making someone’s strife easier. To take the load off now and then, for just a little while, can be very rewarding. The most real part of the movie to me was the girl with cancer who had to deal with feeling crappy all the time and, simultaneously deal with everyone else’s emotional storms over her, around her, and in spite of her. Sixteen year-old Sofia Vassilieva (big sis on ‘Medium’) who plays cancer-ridden Katie has made a splash onto the big screen that won’t stop with this film.
Abigail Breslin plays Anna, the ‘engineered’ child produced to provide transplantable things like cells, blood, and maybe a kidney here and there. It’s delivered to us at the beginning of the film that way –by Anna herself. Cameron Diaz is mom, Sara. More handsome with age, Jason Patric, plays dad Brian. Evan Ellingson plays big brother Jesse with his spiky blonde-surfer hair and chiseled features. Ellingson has mostly been a kid actor till now playing Horatio’s son on ‘CSI: Miami’. At 21 years on 7/1, he has a bright future ahead as a film heartthrob.
There’s a real set of sister’s from which this story idea evolved. Fortunately, the real story had a happy ending. The most media attention they got was the fact the family had a baby to get her cord blood. It was an ethical nightmare. I believe People Magazine had a story about 2 weeks ago if you care to catch up. Picoult took that story to the farthest reaches of controversy in ‘My Sister’s Keeper’.
Katie got sick before kindergarten. As therapy failed, a physician supplies the idea of a genetically engineered child —- with no subtlety at all (other than to say he’d never admit saying it). Hence, Anna. I was annoyed that the mother was made a successful lawyer who could drop everything to take care of her sick child. They lived on dad’s firefighter salary quite comfortably. Finances were glossed over. That’s like leaving the wheels off the car!! Otherwise, the family dynamics, fun, stress, illness relapses, etc were done well. It’s about mid-film that Alex Baldwin comes in as a media-savvy lawyer to whom Anna goes for help. She wants medical emancipation to keep from being forced to donate a kidney to her sister. Baldwin’s character is handled humanely.
I’m not sure how families with cancer would gauge Cameron Diaz’s performance. The things they admitted doing to Anna from 6 months of age and on were horrific. Yet, this mother can admit doing it and justify it to save the other child. Unrealistic? I think it was over done. I can see her being torn. I can see her allowing the youngest child to give blood and registered cord blood. Maybe bone marrow with good anesthesia, but that’s even pushing it before the child can understand. Nevertheless, she actually verbalized her expectation of Anna to donate her kidney, no questions asked. Maybe some of you families could comment on this.
Nick Cassavetes is no stranger to the cinema. He’s been and actor since the 70’s. But in the last decade, he’s become known for his sensational adaptations of work onto the screen. His most memorable was ‘The Notebook’ in 2004. For “My Sister’s Keeper”, he rejoined with his ‘Notebook’ co-writer, Jeremy Leven, who also wrote ‘Alex & Emma’ and ‘The Legend of Bagger Vance’. Together they wrote a poignant and, maybe, controversial adaptation of Picoult’s very successful book. Cassavetes also directed. The run time is about 1 hour 50 minutes and it’s rated ‘PG-13’.
All in all, I think this movie had some glaring flaws but that most people will enjoy the catharsis and not look that deeply. Many in my audience were opening sobbing….SOBBING!! I was touched but didn’t cry. I did feel the frustration near the end when the kid is on her last legs, so to speak, and stupid adults are talking about, ‘You have to fight’, ‘You can’t give up’, ‘I read about how this woman got rid of her cancer by talking to it’. Stupid people. However, I believe part of the movie may help these type people recognize themselves when they just can’t let go in real life. Bring tissues!
