Movies don't come much sadder than this one. But there's nothing sad about the talent on display.
My Sister's Keeper is an unapologetic tearjerker. But the tears are earned.
There are a number of plaguingly provocative questions and thorny dilemmas that emerge from My Sister's Keeper, and they stay with you long after you've emerged from this carefully crafted, deeply affecting drama.
It's the tragic tale, moving back and forth in time and told from multiple points of view -- an appropriate technique, given the material -- of one family's struggle to save a terminally ill child.
And it's the dynamics of this nuclear family and its five members that's on display during a conflict that features lots of flawed, vulnerable people but certainly no villains.
Cameron Diaz (near right) plays ferociously maternal Sara Fitzgerald, Jason Patric her fireman husband Brian. They have a son, Jesse (Evan Ellingson), and two daughters, Kate and Anna. And they are a close-knit family.
Abigail Breslin (far right) plays eleven-year-old Anna, who was conceived as a "donor child" and genetically engineered through in vitro fertilization as a bone-marrow match for her sixteen-year-old sister Kate, played by Sofia Vassilieva, who was diagnosed with leukemia when she was two. Anna is there first and foremost to help save her sister's life.
Throughout their lives, the sisters have endured various medical procedures and hospital stays. And now, with a kidney transplant necessary to once again save Kate, who is near death from kidney failure, and because Anna is a closer match than any unrelated donor, they once again turn to Anna, the only match in the family.
But this time, wanting to be in charge of her own body, she balks at it.
Seeking medical emancipation, she turns to ACLU lawyer Campbell Alexander, played by Alec Baldwin. He takes on her case pro bono, and they sue Anna's parents over the forced organ donation of a minor.
Thus does Sara, a former defense lawyer who left her practice to care for her ailing daughter, return to the courtroom to defend herself and her husband.
Adapted by Jeremy Leven and director Nick Cassavetes (who also collaborated on The Notebook) from Jodi Picoult's best-selling 2004 novel, My Sister's Keeper is an earnest exploration of desperation and healing.
Oh, there's a false note or two. But, overall, it's an emotionally drenching drama and can be a harrowing ordeal to watch, especially for parents.
This project had particular emotional relevancy for director Cassavetes (Alpha Dog, John Q, She's So Lovely), whose own daughter had a congenital heart disease. And he takes pains to include, along with the ethical conundrums and melodramatics, a reasonable on-screen account of the process of physical decay involved.
He also gets strong ensemble work from his cast, which includes Diaz showing an unfamiliar side, Patric lending his strong presence, and Breslin impressing yet again.
But it's Sofia Vassilieva who lights up the screen and breaks your heart.
Lots of movies make you cry. But usually it's during a key or climactic scene. Rare is the film, however, that has you swimming through your own tear ducts for as long a stretch as this one does.
So we'll protect 3 stars out of 4 for a poignant and powerful domestic drama. Compelling and cathartic, My Sister's Keeper is a keeper.
Movie Reviews - Week of 11/16/09
KYW movie critic Bill Wine gives his thoughts on the movies "Planet 51," "New Moon," and "The Blind Side." (3:02)
Movie Reviews - Week of 11/9/09
KYW movie critic Bill Wine gives his thoughts on the movies "Precious," "2012," and "Pirate Radio." (3:02)
Yada Yada Movies - Weekend of 11/13/09
This week KYW's Steve Nikazy and KYW movie critic Bill Wine take a look at the drama "Precious," the adventure disaster "2012," and the comedy "Pirate Radio." (17:24)
Yada Yada Movies - Weekend of 11/06/09
This week KYW's Steve Nikazy and KYW movie critic Bill Wine look at the comedy-war film, "The Men Who Stare at Goats," the animated re-make, "A Christmas Carol," and the horror-mystery-thriller "The Fourth Kind." (18:45)
Movie Reviews - Week of 11/2/09
KYW movie critic Bill Wine gives his thoughts on the movies "The Men Who Stare at Goats", "A Christmas Carol" and "The Fourth Kind". (3:01)
Yada Yada Movies - Weekend of 10/30/09
KYW's Steve Nikazy and KYW movie critic Bill Wine take a look at the Chris Rock documentary, "Good Hair," Michael Jackson's "This is It," and the action-crime-drama "The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day." (17:43)
Movie Reviews - Week of 10/26/09
KYW movie critic Bill Wine gives his thoughts on the movies "Good Hair", "This Is It" and "Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day". (3:00)
Yada Yada Movies - Weekend of 10/23/09
KYW's Steve Nikazy and KYW movie critic Bill Wine take a look at the animated adventure "Astro Boy," the bio-drama"Amelia," and the action-adventure-comedy "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant." (17:20)
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Cameron Diaz (near right) plays ferociously maternal Sara Fitzgerald, Jason Patric her fireman husband Brian. They have a son, Jesse (Evan Ellingson), and two daughters, Kate and Anna. And they are a close-knit family. 
