My Sister's Keeper

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Shamelessly emotive, horribly directed, and panging of more cheese than a Matthew McConaughey marathon, My Sister's Keeper will still leave the vast majority of its audience reaching for the Kleenex - either to wipe the tears, or clean the regurgitated popcorn from their chins. The fact that this cast managed to overcome direction, which feels like it was inspired by the verses on a Deepest Sympathy card, speaks volumes for their respective talent. This is still a good story, though, and it appears that even the most excessive amount of "sad music" and "we were happy once" montages, can't ruin that.

Anna, we learn through a jumbled narrative, was essentially engineered by her parents in order to give her sick sister the organs, bone marrow and blood that she would need to survive an aggressive cancer. But Anna decides at 11 that she doesn't want to do it anymore and seeks medical emancipation from her parents so they can't make her. It's an emotionally complex scenario that really does raise moral questions. These parents love their kids, and treat them as such, but Anna herself asks probably the most prominent question "Would I even be here if my sister wasn't sick?" It's a heavy burden for any child to have to live with, but nowhere near as horrible as dying young.

For the first half hour or so, anytime a character says something, it's then proceeded by an intrusive voiceover, telling us that person's thoughts. This is beyond ridiculous, and an incredibly lazy way to push the story forward. Cassavetes did something similar with Alpha Dog, and it didn't work there either. His main aim here, however, seems to be to get his audience to cry, which is an undoubtedly cynical move - but hardly a new one. For those who have lost close family members in a similar way, seeing this film may not be such a good idea, regardless.

Breslin is genuinely growing into a fine young actress, and it's a pleasure to watch her mature on screen. Vassilieva, too, deserves credit for how she handles a tricky role. Diaz is fine, and makes the most out of an underwritten character, but Patric is excellent. He doesn't need a voiceover to convey emotion; just the way he looks at his daughter as she gets ready for a prom will bring tears to the most cynical of eyes. It's a shame Cassavetes undermines his subtle and affecting turn every chance he gets.

It's still a good story, all be it a badly told one. A talented and appealing cast make it just about worth seeing; just don't expect the intelligent questions raised to be intelligently answered.