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Movies / Upcoming / My Sister's Keeper
My Sister's Keeper

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My Sister's Keeper (2009)

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Reviews Counted:122

Fresh:58

Rotten:64

Average Rating:5.6/10

Consensus: My Sister's Keeper gets fine performances from its adult and child actors, but the director's heavy-handed approach turns a worthy emotional subject into an overly melodramatic tearjerker.

Australian Rating: TBC

Genre: Dramas

Australian Theatrical Release:
Jul 30, 2009 Wide

US Box Office: $49,069,310

Synopsis: THE NOTEBOOK's Nick Cassavetes directs another tearjerking literary adaptation with this drama based on Jodi Picoult's novel. Cameron Diaz takes a detour from comedy to play Sara, the domineering... THE NOTEBOOK's Nick Cassavetes directs another tearjerking literary adaptation with this drama based on Jodi Picoult's novel. Cameron Diaz takes a detour from comedy to play Sara, the domineering mother of Kate (Sofia Vassilieva, MEDIUM), a young girl with cancer. Sara’s other daughter, 11-year-old Anna (Abigail Breslin), was conceived just to serve as a donor for her sick sister. On the outskirts of the family are father Brian (Jason Patric), who feels unable to stand up to his wife’s strength, and son Jesse (Evan Ellingson), who craves attention in the face of Kate’s illness. But the complicated situation gets more difficult when Anna hires a lawyer (played by the always excellent Alec Baldwin), so that she can control her own body and say "no" to giving a kidney to her sister. Cassavetes and Picoult both traffic in tears, so MY SISTER’S KEEPER is a perfect match between director and source writer. Even the most jaded viewers will find it hard to keep their eyes dry in the face of this emotional family tragedy, so audiences are warned to have tissues parked next to their popcorn. This drama’s stellar cast also includes Thomas Dekker as Kate’s cancer-stricken love and Joan Cusack as the judge who presides over Anna’s case. [More]

Starring: Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Alec Baldwin, Sofia Vassilieva

Starring: Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Alec Baldwin, Sofia Vassilieva, Joan Cusack, Jason Patric, Thomas Dekker, Emily Deschanel, Lin Shaye

Director: Nick Cassavetes

Director: Nick Cassavetes
Screenwriter: Jeremy Leven, Nick Cassavetes
Producer: Mark Johnson, Chuck Pacheco, Scott L. Goldman
Composer: Aaron Zigman
Studio: Warner Bros.

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Reviews for My Sister's Keeper

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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[Cassavetes] refuses to let the material speak for itself, putting a famous-for-making-women-cry song behind almost every scene, and lingering on every sentimental moment.

Full Review Source: FILMINK (Australia) | comment Comment
07/31/09
Jenni Dawes
Jenni Dawes
FILMINK (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Bring the tissues. This film works.

Full Review Source: The Age (Australia) | comment Comment
07/31/09
Jim Schembri
Jim Schembri
The Age (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There's no question that this is a really intriguing drama and a drama that I think deserved better treatment than it gets here because I think Nick Cassevetes -- I don't think he's a very good director, really.

Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | comment Comment
07/29/09
David Stratton
David Stratton
At the Movies (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

There is a touch of contrivance to the set-up that is not totally convincing and the film avoids much of the ethical arguments in favour of family drama. But I must admit to being affected.

Full Review Source: At the Movies (Australia) | comment Comment
07/29/09
Margaret Pomeranz
Margaret Pomeranz
At the Movies (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A morally ambiguous tearjerker with a twist.

Full Review Source: Daily Telegraph (Australia) | comment Comment
07/29/09
Vicky Roach
Vicky Roach
Daily Telegraph (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Though the motives of My Sister’s Keeper will seem dubious to some, there is no denying the performances on display keep everything in the realm of the watchable.

Full Review Source: Herald Sun (Australia) | comment Comment
07/29/09
Leigh Paatsch
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

As manufactured Disease of the Week weepies go, Nick Cassavetes's drama based on a Jodi Picoult bestseller, is surprisingly moving.

Full Review Source: Courier Mail (Australia) | comment Comment
07/29/09
Des Partridge
Des Partridge
Courier Mail (Australia)
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The decision to avoid unnecessary sentimentality defines this film, elevating it to a more thoughtful if a touch less engaging arena, sacrificing emotional escapism for conversation provoking tragedy.

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment Comment
07/29/09
Giles Hardie
Giles Hardie
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The obnoxious calculation smothers what should’ve been a pure articulation of melancholy and a potent debate of morality.

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment 1 Comment
07/27/09
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
Dark Horizons
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
07/24/09
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[I]ntelligent, moving and even occasionally funny, although you might want to bring along a few tissues just in case.

Full Review Source: New England Movies Weekly | comment Comment
08/11/09
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
New England Movies Weekly

Cassavetes...shows great skill in weaving bright moments -- even an adolescent romance -- into the gloom. It's still bittersweet, but like mass-produced crème caramel, never too bitter.

Full Review Source: MovieTime, ABC Radio National | comment Comment
07/31/09
Jason Di Rosso
Jason Di Rosso
MovieTime, ABC Radio National
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What starts as an exploration of the ethics of organ-donation and genetic selection, rapidly disintegrates into a sloppy, unstructured, tear-jerking mess.

Full Review Source: Screenwize | comment Comment
07/30/09
Simon Weaving
Simon Weaving
Screenwize

Sometimes, a sad story isn't just a manipulative venture that makes you cry. Sometimes, as in 'The Notebook,' it's a tale well told that brings out honest emotions. Sometimes, it's in a movie such as 'My Sister's Keeper.'

Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment Comment
07/15/09
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

Navigates a minefield of emotional explosives intelligently and sensitively, with excellent performances that strike the right balance between heartfelt and hand-wringing.

Full Review Source: Spectrum (St. George, Utah) | comment Comment
07/15/09
Bruce Bennett
Bruce Bennett
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)

The performances are first-rate, with special commendation to Vassilieva in a breakout performance as a teen striving for normalcy in spite of her cancer.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
07/10/09
Sean Means
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

If the adults in My Sister's Keeper are repeatedly compromised in the honesty department, the children seem to embody truth physically.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
07/10/09
Renie Scolaro Mora
Renie Scolaro Mora
PopMatters

My Sister's Keeper might have earned its weepy moments if it had played fair with its central dilemma rather than putting forward a false choice.

Full Review Source: Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema | comment Comment
07/07/09
Mark Pfeiffer
Mark Pfeiffer
Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema

A tear-fest medical drama that seems much longer than it is.

Full Review Source: Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA) | comment Comment
07/03/09
John Wirt
John Wirt
Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)

...a high-class tear-jerker thanks to an intelligent script...sensitive direction...and strong performances...

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment 1 Comment
07/03/09
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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Latest News for My Sister's Keeper

July 26, 2009: Win a poster signed by Cameron Diaz
How would you like to have a poster of Cameron Diaz on your wall -- signed by the lady herself? To celebrate this week's release of Cameron's latest film, My Sister's Keeper,... More...

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