My Sister's Keeper

What’s the Story?

Anna Fitzgerald (Abigail Breslin) was a wanted baby -- wanted more than anything in the world, because she was meant to save the life of her sister, Kate (Sofia Vassilieva), who's been battling leukemia since she was 2. The girls' mother, Sara (Cameron Diaz), vows to fend off death at all costs, even if it means using Anna as Kate’s lifeline; their father, Brian (Jason Patric), supports her but has to tamp down some doubts. And their son, Jesse (Evan Ellingson), struggles to be relevant in a household where cancer -- and any potential cure -- reigns above all else. Then, one day, Anna declares she’s had enough and, with the help of lawyer Campbell Alexander (Alec Baldwin), fights to be medically emancipated -- a move that could eliminate Kate’s last hope of survival.

Is It Any Good?

Based on Jodi Picoult’s same-named novel, MY SISTER’S KEEPER is a bona fide tearjerker. Given the subject matter, how could it not be? Director Nick Cassavetes has coaxed amazing performances from his first-rate cast, including Diaz, who surprises with the strength of her rage and melancholy as a mother determined not to see her child die. And the film does well what many other dramas about illness don’t: examine the toll that a prolonged sickness takes on everyone, not just the patient. The sibling relationships are especially nuanced; power imbalances are believably rendered right alongside deep familial love.

What keeps the film from achieving greatness is largely due to its structure. Characters tell their stories one at a time; it moves the plot along, but sometimes a little coercively. (There's a courtroom case embedded in the plotline, so the voiceovers do seem to make sense here. Nevertheless, they drain some of the power.) The movie tells you how to feel instead of taking you there.