DVD
REVIEW: MY SISTER'S KEEPER
11/14/09
OVERVIEW: Based on the bestselling book from Jodi Picoult, My Sister’s Keeper arrives on Blu-ray and DVD November 17th from Warner Home Video. Follow Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin on a journey revealing surprising truths that challenge one's perceptions of family, love and loyalty and give new meaning to the definition of healing.
On November 17, My Sister's
Keeper will also be available ON DEMAND through Digital Cable,
Satellite TV, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game consoles and it
can be downloaded for rental or purchase on iTunes and Amazon
Video On Demand.
SYNOPSIS: Sara and Brian Fitzgerald's life with their young son and their two-year-old daughter, Kate, is forever altered when they learn that Kate has leukemia. The parents' only hope is to conceive another child, Anna, who is specifically intended to save Kate's life. Throughout their young lives, the sisters endure various medical procedures and hospital stays. Until Anna, now 11, says "no." Seeking medical emancipation, she hires her own lawyer, initiating a court case that divides the family and that could leave Kate's rapidly failing body in the hands of fate.
FILM REVIEW:
M“Coincidence or not, I’m
here”, this quote by Anna Fitzgerald (Abigail Breslin),
states the essence of her existence. The Fitzgerald family
could not have been living a more idyllic life. Dad (Jason
Patric), a fireman, mom an attorney. They have two perfect
children, Jessie (Evan Ellingston) a blonde haired, precious
little boy, and Kate (Sofia Vassilieva), an angelic little
girl whose smile is pure sunshine. All was right with the
world until little Kate becomes ill and suddenly their world
is turned upside down. After several treatments and failed
attempts to cure her, they have come to the place where the
doctors have no more solutions to offer. At this point both
parents have found out that not only are they not a genetic
match for the sake of a bone marrow transplant but neither
is her little brother. And then their oncologist suggests
something altogether new. Why not have another baby that
would be genetically engineered to be a perfect match for
Kate. Anna says it best when she states that most babies are
accidents, usually due to alcohol and lack of birth control,
but not her. She was “born to save my sister’s life”.
I don’t believe any of us could ever say that we can
understand what it would be to know that your ultimate
purpose in life is to provide genetic material to be
transplanted as needed to continue your sibling’s life. A
Machiavellian view would be that she is here on earth to be
harvested for parts whether she wants it or not. Anna,
although just 11 years old, decides that she will no longer
be silent, and out she goes and gets herself an attorney,
Campbell Alexander (Alec Baldwin), a man living his own
personal battles. They begin an unprecedented fight for
Anna’s Medical Emancipation, now that almost all hope is
gone to save Kate except the need for a kidney transplant.
Anna’s kidney to be exact.
Kate has made it longer than anyone could have expected. In
her short life she has experienced so much. Pain, disgust,
anger and even love. I mean, who could understand what going
through countless radiation, chemo, loss of your hair and
nausea better than another person going through it. In to
her life comes Taylor (Thomas Dekker) and for the time they
have together all is well with the world and love could not
be any sweeter.
This film takes you through, the heartache that comes from
having your child live life in a constant state of wait.
Wait to see if she’ll live, wait to see if she’ll die and at
times just how much longer can she put up with living in
this debilitating state. But it also shows you a loving
family, siblings that would do anything for one another. A
father who quietly suffers on the sidelines, a younger
sister with more weight on her shoulders than any person
much less a child should ever have to put up with, a brother
who has been the invisible child for so long and yet wants
nothing more than to help his sister’s wishes come to
fruition. And lastly a mother, Sara Fitzgerald (Cameron
Diaz) who has given up her career to spend every moment
taking care of and fighting for Kate’s survival at the
expense of the rest of her family at times. This family is
loving and caring but not always in agreement with what is
right for Kate and much less, stopping to actually see what
it is that Kate really wants.
I have to tell you that I know how Sara, as a mother, feels.
She fights everyone, doctors, nurses, counselors, Anna’s
attorney, even Kate, but it’s the only way she knows to keep
her child going. She doesn’t sit around feeling sorry for
herself and doesn’t take others doing so, easily. That is
until her sick child holds her and makes her feel all those
things she’s been burying so deeply under the guise of
strength and the tears come like rain. My own son Dexter was
at death’s door two years ago and although for just a
moment, when told by doctors that he had gone into cardiac
arrest and might not make it, I cried that deep guttural cry
that no one can understand unless you feel it. After that
moment though, I went into warrior mode and although others
around me cried, and I’m sure they must have thought I had
lost my mind, I just wanted to know when physical therapy
could begin, even though they didn’t know if he’d ever come
out of his coma, I was working towards my child’s recovery
and fought everyone tooth and nail to believe that he would
make it. I know what this mother felt and how she went on
automatic mode and did all she could. Make no mistake, this
film is a tearjerker from Nick Cassavetes, director and
writer of the Notebook, and you will cry. CineMarcos sat
next to me trying very hard to not show he was crying, but
the sniffling and slight convulsing gave him away. You will
cry, but I believe that you will also find the strength of
the human spirit present in this film. This film will
visually assault you and I don’t mean that just because of
the painful scenes of illness, but through all the wonderful
scenes of a family attempting to live, all the while
fighting against death. Scenes of California’s beautiful
beaches and the mountains of Montana are breathe taking and
thus help make the dark aspects of this film bearable in
their lightness.
Review By Priscilla
priscilla@smartcine.com
DVD: The DVD
includes the widescreen and full screen versions of
the film. The picture is complemented with a 5.1 Dolby
Digital audio in English and Spanish. In terms of special
features the DVD only includes 15 minutes of additional
scenes which don't add anything new to this dramatic story.
It also includes a digital copy.
VIDEO:
Standard [4:3 Transfer]
Widescreen [16:9 Transfer]
AUDIO:
English 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles - English Spanish
SPECIAL
FEATURES:
Over 15 minutes of powerful additional scenes
Digital Copy
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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