Willie-12 Review of My Sister's Keeper

My Sister's Keeper (2009)

Started Out Well, But Became Too Melodramatic

[6/10 · 4 September 2009]

I will say this: My Sister's Keeper was one of Nick Cassavetes' better movies to date. But what started out pretty decent, ended up being a melodrama that was so wrapped up in wanting to tug the tears out of its viewers, that it was about as subtle as a punch in the face. And it seems that this is not the first time that Cassavetes has had this problem. We've seen it before from him in The Notebook, and especially in John Q. It seems he can't help himself. For some reason he does not trust his actors to do the job. When all that is needed is a subtle look, or some reflective quietness amongst the characters, Cassavetes finds it necessary to tell us every single thing that they're thinking, or not thinking for that matter. Indeed, he packs way more dialogue into a scene than is needed, and what we get as a result is a screenplay that is somewhat sappy, and very manipulative. But that's not to say that there weren't any strengths to Sister's Keeper. There were a few. The acting is pretty good. In fact, I think the most restrained performance came from Jason Patric, and his restraint made it the best performance in the film. I also thought the scene where his character grants his daughter's wish by taking her to the beach, in spite of his wife's desires, was particularly moving. It was a scene that felt real and genuine, and because of that, it worked quite well. There were others, albeit not as many as I would have hoped for. Too bad though. This was a film that had some promise, but because of the melodramatic screenplay, never lived up to what it could have been.