MY SISTERS KEEPER
2002
This is a film only review
There seems to be a little confusion with this film.
This category is actually for the 2002 film directed by Ron Lagomarsino and starring Kathy Bates and Lynn Redgrave and not the more recent film by the same name directed ... Read review
Two sister's lifelong struggle with illness, daily hardships and their own conflicted ... more
relationship evolves into mutual respect and understanding in this poignant and emotional real life story.Throughout their life, Christine and Judy's stern but dutifu...
Two sister's lifelong struggle with mental illness daily hardships and their own ... more
conflicted relationship evolves into mutual respect and understanding in this poignant and emotional real life story. Throughout their life Christine and Judy's stern b...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Now a major film. Sara Fitzgerald's daughter Kate is just two years old when she is ... more
diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia. Reeling with the helpless shock of it Sara knows she will do anything -- whatever it takes - to save her child. Then the tests results come back time and again to show that no one in their family is a match for Kate. If they are to find a donor for the crucial bone marrow transplant she needs there is only one option: creating another baby specifically designed to save her sister. For Sara it seems the ideal solution. Not only does Kate live but she gets a beautiful new daughter Anna too. Until the moment Anna hands Sara the papers that will rock her whole world. Because aged thirteen Anna has decided that she doesn't want to help Kate live any more. She is suing her parents for the rights to her own body.
Postage & Packaging:£0.00 Availability:3-5 working days
Based on the best-selling novel, Nick Cassavetes My Sister's Keeper stars Cameron Diaz and ... more
Jason Patric as a married couple whose life is altered forever when they discover their two year old daughter Kate has leukemia. Their only hope to save Kate is to conceive another child, Anna.Throughout their young lives Kate and Anna endure various medical procedures in the hope of keeping Kate alive, until, aged eleven, Anna says no more.
Based on the best-selling novel, Nick Cassavetes My Sister's Keeper stars Cameron Diaz and ... more
Jason Patric as a married couple whose life is altered forever when they discover their two year old daughter Kate has leukemia. Their only hope to save Kate is to conceive another child, Anna.Throughout their young lives Kate and Anna endure various medical procedures in the hope of keeping Kate alive, until, aged eleven, Anna says no more.
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 1997 - Drama - Director: Ronan O'Leary - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: James Spader, Anne Brochet, Barry McGovern, Anna Massey
Advantages: Kathy Bates acting skills Disadvantages: A bit slow and choppy
== MY SISTERS KEEPER ==
=== 2002 ===
=== This is a film only review ===
There seems to be a little confusion with this film.
This category is actually for the 2002 film directed by Ron Lagomarsino and starring Kathy Bates and Lynn Redgrave and not the more recent film by the same name directed by Nick Cassavetes starring Cameron Diaz and Alec Baldwin
This film is a completely ... ...the same name (Not the Jodi Picoult novel) written by Margaret Moorman.
The story of the film is tragically like that of Ms Moorman's own life.
When Margaret Moorman's older sister, Sally, was first hospitalised with schizophrenia in 1959, her family denied the truth to neighbours, friends and even to themselves. It was only thirty years later, when their mother's death made her Sally's sole carer, that Margaret faced the truth. more
MY SISTERS KEEPER
2002
This is a film only review
There seems to be a little confusion with this film. This category is actually for the 2002 film directed by Ron Lagomarsino and starring Kathy Bates and Lynn Redgrave and not the more recent film by the same name directed by Nick Cassavetes starring Cameron Diaz and Alec Baldwin
This film is a completely different story and is based on a true story of the same name (Not the Jodi Picoult novel) written by Margaret Moorman. The story of the film is tragically like that of Ms Moorman's own life. When Margaret Moorman's older sister, Sally, was first hospitalised with schizophrenia in 1959, her family denied the truth to neighbours, friends and even to themselves. It was only thirty years later, when their mother's death made her Sally's sole carer, that Margaret faced the truth.
This is not a film that has a sparkling plot, great suspense, passionate romance or thrills, what it is though a thought provoking film about how mental illness affects a family; it is a film that allows the viewer to laugh and cry with the characters and their problems rather than at them.
There have been hints all her life that there is something very wrong with Christine (played wonderfully by Kathy Bates), but the crisis comes in 1974 when, at the age of16, she is taken into hospital after being diagnosed with a Schizo-Affective Disorder. The doctors don't know exactly what is wrong with Christine or what to do to keep her symptoms under control. Some treatments work for some patients some of the time, but mental illness tends to be one of those areas that is rather unpredictable at best. A tragic problem not just for the patient but also for family members who are desperate to help but can't.
The main action in the film is between Christine and her younger sister Judy (played by Elizabeth Perkins) who is fated to be the long-term carer for Christine. Even when her mother (played by Lynn Redgrave) carried the care load for Chrissie, Judy knew that, at some point, she would be the one eventually caring for her sister. Judy was the 'perfect daughter' who put everything into her career. Her mother protected Judy from the daily grind of dealing with the social services. When she moved away and got a high-powered job, she did not leave her troubles behind. Chrissie still who calls her a lot, needs to see her regularly and sometimes must go to the hospital because she either hasn't been taking her medication or the drug stops working. Their mother wants Judy to live her own life, but it's not so easy for her to let herself do that, even when she finds her Mr. Right (played Clark Gregg). When their mother dies suddenly, Judy becomes Chrissies main carer.
What stands out to me in this film is Kathy Bates' riveting performance; it was equally as good as her performance in 'Misery'. She did a wonderful job playing the part of a mentally ill character, a hard role, I'm sure.
Elizabeth Perkins is also strong in her character. She had to play every scene in stress mode Even when things were seemingly going fine, you could see her pain under the surface that is reflective of a live lived never knowing from day to day. Perkins played that optimistic but troubled role very well.
Despite her problems, I really liked Christine. She was clever, big hearted and had a big heart and made friends easily, including Jascha Washington as the friendless Earl. Her passion for animals and dream of starting a shelter was charming. Her plans could be a bit 'OTT' at times, but the principles were good.
I didn't find Judy as easy to like, she seems to hide her worries - which I suppose this is pretty much true to life though, because being a sibling to a mentally ill person must be very hard. Even though the title of the film refers to Judy, the focus is far more on Christine, I can't decide whether that is because Kathy Bates played the part so well or because her character was just more fun.
Overall, I would say that this isn't a perfect film. It is a little slow in places and sometimes rather choppy. On the other hand I do think this is a valuable film that deals with mental illness is dealt with well, not like some of the roles that are often portrayed in. This is not a high action film, or a romantic comedy, the 90 minutes doesn't fly along at great speed. However there are good points, the characters are not saccharine sweet or slyly evil, they are just everyday people. This is more a personal journey and one that gives the viewer a personal and memorable look at an unusual and tragic life we rarely (hopefully) get to see. One ray of hope to people watching the film who may be in a similar position is that it is possible come to terms with mental illness and make a life that does not always centre on the illness.
Summary: I would give this film 3/5 because of the slowness but still recommend it
Advantages: Good acting. Disadvantages: Weak ending
Kate has been sick for most of her life. Her parents decided the best way to ensure her health was to have Anna. Anna was an IVF baby created as a gentic match to donate blood and bone marrow to Kate. When Kate needs a kidney transplant her parents look to Anna. But Anna decides that she is going to seek medical emancipation from her parents. I was looking forward to the film after reading the book by Jodi Picoult. It is as heartbreakingly sad as ... ...playing the mother who will do anything for her child, this role was much more challenging than we are used to seeing from her and she pulls it off well. The problems with the film were not with the acting or the emotion evoked but rather with the changed made in conversion from book to film. After reading the book the film felt like a let down, especially the sidelining of Campbell to focus on other less interesting subplots.The ending had been ...
loobylou88 10.12.2009
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of My Sister's Keeper (DVD)
Did you enjoy it?
Story
Characters / Performances
Special Effects
How does it compare to ...
Similar reviews »
Reviews which might be of interest for "My Sister's Keeper (DVD)"
Advantages: Maturely presented Disadvantages: Hard to handle subject matter for some, perhaps
donor every time sister Kate (Sofia Vassilieva) is in need.
Since birth, Anna has been subjected to needles and the like for her sister's comfort, and to prolong her life, and she has had enough. Suing her parents isn't plain sailing, though, and the film has some real tearjerking moments as Kate's condition is explored quite starkly by Piccoult's story. The conversion to screen sees a number of scenes where the effects on the family are shown, and this is done particularly powerfully, with brother Jesse's (Evan Ellingson) involvement crucial and just as moving as the others' dramatic scenes.
In fact, the film, which lasted around an hour and a half, flew by and kept me entranced from start to finish. It was emotional, sure, and brought a tear to my eye. I didn't manage to completely break down as we were on a plane and were interrupted ...
Advantages: Brilliant cast, very moving and emotional story Disadvantages: The different ending to the book was very disappointing
excellently. I'm only used to seeing Cameron Diaz in comedies so it was very refreshing to see her in a real-life role which she played brilliantly and managed to make me cry every time she cried. Abigail Breslin, who played the main part, was also excellent. Although only young, she managed to convey her character's emotions very well so that you could feel her struggle between wanting to save her sister and wanting to have a fun life of her own. I'm also used to seeing Alec Baldwin in silly comedy films and so wasn't too sure about him being in this to start off with, but he managed to play the part of the caring lawyer very well.
Overall, this was a wonderful film and one that will no doubt make you cry. Even the hardest of hearts are sure to be effected by this - my nan has a hard heart and never cries at anything but even her eyes were ...
Advantages: Beautifully filmed, Beautifully acted, and just a fantastic story Disadvantages: You will very likely cry your eyes out. Costs you more money as you have to buy tissues :D
Ever since I heard back in 2008 that they were making a film adaptation of the Jodi Picoult novel MySistersKeeper, I?ve been umming and awwing over whether to go and see it. The book I could never read again, I didn?t really completely enjoy it, I found the ending to be a bit of a problem and it just didn?t really feel right in my head. When I heard however that they had changed the ending for the movie, it made the decision for me, and I knew I had to see it.
The Plot
When their young daughter Kate is diagnosed with leukaemia, Kate and Brian Fitzgerald are in despair. Then Kate?s doctor suggests quite an unorthodox medical procedure to maybe save Kate?s life. Kate is in dire need of bone marrow, and because her brother and parents are not matches it doesn?t look good for her, the doctor suggests that they make a donor baby ...
Contains psychiatric illness theme and mild sex references
Video Category
Feature Film
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
METRODOME DISTRIBUTION; SONY DADC, METRODOME DISTRIBUTION; DELUXE VIDEO SERVICE - METRODOME
Release date
30/04/2007, 01/03/2004
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
I2F 3025, MTD 5130
Barcode
5055002530258, 5055002551307
Languages
Main Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Interactive menu
DVD Description
Adapted from the novel by Margaret Moorman and based on a true story this is the tale of Christine who has spent most of her life in various mental health institutions. When Christine's mother dies the responsibility for her care falls to her sister Judy.
Compare My Sister's Keeper (DVD) to other similar Drama »
![My Sisters Keeper [DVD] [2007]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/81042879.jpg)
