The Fresh Films Review: My Sister's Keeper (2009)

My Sister's Keeper (2009)

Directed by:
Nick Cassavetes

COUNTRY
USA

GENRE
Drama

NORWEGIAN TITLE
My Sister's Keeper

RUNNING TIME
109 minutes

Produced by:
Stephen Furst
Scott Goldman
Mark Johnson
Chuck Pacheco
Mendel Tropper

Written by (based on the novel by Jodi Picoult):
Jeremy Leven
Nick Cassavetes

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Anna Fitzgerald	Abigail Breslin	½
Kate Fitzgerald	Sofia Vassilieva
Sara Fitzgerald	Cameron Diaz
Aunt Kelly	Heather Wahlquist	½
Brian Fitzgerald	Jason Patric
Jesse Fitzgerald	Evan Ellingson	½
Campbell Alexander	Alec Baldwin	½
Judge de Salvo	Joan Cusack

Review

The subject matter that is presented and to some degree discussed in My Sister's Keeper is so interesting, relevant and explosive that what Nick Cassavetes ultimately gets out of it is a little disappointing. The ethical dilemma is this: Can an 11-year-old refuse her parents the right to use her body for the purpose of helping her leukaemic sister? The film has segments of potent drama and impressive acting. Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric give close to career-best performances; Diaz in a role that is perfect for her, Patric in a welcomed change of pace. And the kids do remarkably well with difficult material, even if they are given the disagreeable task of narrating their story in typical vapid fashion. This and a few other less elegant and probable turns let the film down as a serious drama, turning it into an Americanised courtroom spectacle rather than staying with the interesting moral questions.