Summer Movie Series: My Sister's Keeper

My Sister's Keeper

Warning: Do not let the smiles fool you! This is NOT a comedy.

I went into this movie prepared to cry my eyes out, but my first emotional reaction to the movie was not sadness, but surprisingly, annoyance. The style of the first half of the movie was very off-putting to me for two reasons. First, they use voice overs from all of the main characters to help set up the story. Anna's (Abigail Breslin) is first, and is actually okay because it explains how she was genetically engineered to be a perfect donor match for her sister. It's short and occurs during the credits, so it isn't very intrusive. However, the voice overs continue as the movie begins with each person taking their turn. It seemed so unnecessary to me, especially the way they had a person's name pop up on the screen when they talked. It's easy to tell who is talking, and the person's name is said several times before. I didn't need written help.

The second reason I was annoyed was the random ordering of the scenes. The movie doesn't start at the beginning of the family's story. It starts at the main action. Then it goes back to when the leukemia started, and then skips ahead again to Kate suffering as a teenager with cancer. You can follow the scenes, but it becomes tiresome to figure out what occurred when.

But have no fear, the movie is saved about halfway through with the introduction of the world's perfect boyfriend: Taylor Ambrose. I felt Sophia Vassilieva and Thomas Dekker did a great job portraying their characters in this particular sequence because they were able to show how even though they both had the burden of dealing with cancer, they found hope and love in each other.

Cameron Diaz is narrating a little at this point and has a great line that went something like this "While cancer was bringing Kate down, Taylor was building her up." Taylor is the perfect boyfriend. He is loving and patient, and sits happily with Kate through her chemotherapy despite her nausea saying "Don't worry. Tomorrow it could be me." I was so glad that they didn't have the parents get in the way. They weren't overprotective about their daughter dating, but instead were happy she had found love. It is a short and sweet romance, but in my opinion, also the best part of the movie. Kate looks so beautiful when she goes to the dance with Taylor near the end of the sequence, and the scene even turns playful with the women in the family taking numerous pictures as the couple leaves while the dad just looks on lovingly. This is soon followed by the line "Do I look pretty Daddy?" that is seen in the trailers. Ah, so perfect.

The movie after the Taylor/Kate saga stays pretty good, but keep in mind it just keeps getting more and more sad. They really used everything they could do to make you cry. The worst was the scene where the family goes to the beach for Kate. They play "Feels Like Home" in the background, and I was constantly swallowing the lump in my throat that had me on the verge of sobbing.

But I'm getting away from the main point of the movie. Anna decides in the beginning of the film that she is tired of donating to her sister after 11 years of doing so because it is taking a toll on her own well-being. She hires a lawyer, played by Alec Baldwin, to defend her case in pursuit of medical emancipation (a term used way too many times in the film). Her mom doesn't take to this case very well, and fights back hard. Cameron Diaz comes off kind of bitchy a lot because of how much she ignores her other children to focus on Kate. She even alienates her husband as he starts seeing Anna's point of view. A lot of people criticized Diaz' acting, but I think she was sufficient. She succeeded in making me hate her character most of the movie, while also sympathizing with her a tiny bit by the end. I think a lot of parents would do anything to prevent the death of their kids, but it brings up an interesting question of ethics about hurting one child to save the other. Don't think you have the movie figured out, because the end might just surprise you when there is a revelation in the court room. It seems like everyone has something to hide, even Baldwin's strong lawyer character.

The ending is also different from the book. I didn't read the book, but I looked up the main ending of it and realized fans of the novel might be disappointed. Apparently the movie is less sad than the book, but that is hard to believe when I've only seen the film. Don't go see this movie for entertainment. You definitely have to be in the mood for it to like it. I would probably give it 2 stars. As I said earlier, I didn't enjoy the first half of the movie. Once they got past the voice overs and stayed with a logical progression, the movie's heart finally came out.

The movie doesn't sugar coat anything, but Kate is able to find happiness amidst all the suffering. That makes the movie work, and I think Sophia did a great job in this role. It's her first major role, and she is able to pull off a teenage cancer patient dealing not only with disease, but also with the normal stresses for a girl her age. No matter what happens with the other characters, you are always rooting and loving Kate. Her optimism and peace leaves you feeling hopeful, despite the hour and a half tragedy you just finished watching.