SummaryYour Sister's Sister is a new comedy about romance, grief and sibling rivalry. A year after his brother Tom's death, Jack is still struggling emotionally. When he makes a scene at a memorial party, Tom's best friend Iris offers up her family cabin on an island in the Pacific Northwest so Jack can seek catharsis in solitude. Once there, h...
SummaryYour Sister's Sister is a new comedy about romance, grief and sibling rivalry. A year after his brother Tom's death, Jack is still struggling emotionally. When he makes a scene at a memorial party, Tom's best friend Iris offers up her family cabin on an island in the Pacific Northwest so Jack can seek catharsis in solitude. Once there, h...
So many movies try to capture human relationships and fail miserably. A few come close. Your Sister's Sister nails it with grace, humor and winning charm.
"Lynn **** used to hearing the name of the Seattle-based writer/director/producer/actor, because if her newest work is any indication, she's got a very bright filmmaking career ahead of her. Her fourth film and the follow-up to 2009's acclaimed Humpday, Your Sister's Sister is one of the smartest, most engaging relationship dramas (laced with charming humour) I've ever seen. Yes, it's that good.
The story doesn't exactly jump off the page, perhaps reading as the type of standard chick flick material that audiences have seen over and over again, with a subdued tone and pace that some viewers might find challenging. The magic in the film lies with the honesty and naturalism that Shelton derives from her characters and their interplay, delivered by equally outstanding performances from the three leads who improvised about 75% of their words. Emily Blunt plays Iris, the best friend of Jack (played by Mark Duplass) and the former girlfriend of Jack's brother, who died roughly a year before the movie begins. Jack, who's unemployed, just can't seem to get out of his mourning funk, so Iris encourages him (practically forces him, actually) to spend some time at her father's cabin on an island in Puget Sound. Jack takes her up on the offer and, upon arriving at the remote cabin, finds a houseguest already there. That would be Hannah, Iris' sister (played by Rosemary DeWitt), who is also seeking a little solitude to clear her head after just ending a seven year lesbian relationship. Mix a bottle of tequila with some bad judgement and the pair end up having awkward sex. The following day, Iris unexpectedly shows up, thus setting in motion the complex triangular dynamic that forms the core of the film.
Blunt, DeWitt, and Duplass have an immediate, winning chemistry with each other and they'd better. Aside from its first fifteen or so minutes, the film almost exclusively features just the three actors on screen and most of that time is spent within the four cabin walls, which gives the film a very intimate theatrical feel. DeWitt and Blunt, in particular, find a familiarity and comfort with one another that successfully sells us on their sisterhood, despite the curious fact that Iris has an English accent and Hannah an American one. I loved that Shelton holds off on revealing the reason for the accent discrepancy until well into the film, as the puzzling detail just kind of hangs there in an intriguing and only mildly **** way. It might seem like an odd creative choice on Shelton's part, but it actually stems from the fact that Rachel Weisz, a Brit, was originally supposed to play Hannah before pulling out at the last minute. DeWitt, usually one of the best things in anything I've ever seen her in (especially her work on Showtime's United States Of Tara), deserves even more credit for her performance, considering the lack of preparation she had before jumping into the movie's lean twelve day shooting schedule. Along with Shelton's work, another major revelation taken from the film is Duplass, who I'd never heard of. He proves more than capable of handling the movie's demanding dramatic material, while also demonstrating a real flair for its comedic requirements via his goofy charm. And it turns out that like his director, Duplass also writes, directs, and produces films with his brother, Jay. Their latest movie, Jeff, Who Lives At Home, premiered at last year's TIFF.
The film's soundtrack deserves special mention. Composed by Vince Smith (who handled all aspects of sound recording and design on this production), it meshes nicely with Shelton's visuals featuring the scenic Pacific Northwest, and his score plays a key role during an extended montage sequence at the end of the movie that has next to no dialogue. The sequence is a bit **** on Shelton's part, but it's nicely put together and doesn't sap the film's momentum as the story comes to its conclusion.
Hopefully, a movie this quiet and clever can find an audience amidst the clatter of the studio tentpole offerings. Those who do discover it will be treated to a film that wasn't just the best thing I saw at last year's Toronto film festival, but the best film I saw all year.
Your Sister's Sister is a truly delightful viewing experience. With good performances from Mark Duplass, Emily Blunt, and Rosemarie Dewitt, Your Sister's Sister is filled with charismatic, heartfelt, and truly emotionally impactful performances. The writing for the characters is very strong and it can honestly feel as though you are watching a documentary with how raw some of the emotion in the film can be. This type of writing really ups the overall emotional impact of the film as it feels as though these are people you know and would want to know. Additionally, the film is incredibly funny. Very witty and smart, mostly thanks to Duplass' delivery, the film really leaves you in stitches more than a few times. Overall, Your Sister's Sister is a really charming film that makes an emotional impact and is incredibly funny.
Very little is simple in Your Sister's Sister -- not the emotions, the naturalistic tone or the unstudied, easygoing performances. But the film's pleasures are.
Lynn Shelton's lovely tale of swirling feelings was shot in a mere 12 days, on a budget that must have been minuscule. A couple of minutes after it's started, though, you know you're in the presence of people who will surprise and delight you.
a film where three excellent actors get to shine, rosemary dewitt is simply radiant as an unexpected guest with a secret agenda. in the end, the writing does let this down as things resolve fairly neatly. but, it is worth it for the powerful performances.
Well, here is another movie that really is about nothing, says nothings and did nothing for me. Another movie that had about 15 minutes of shelf life but was expanded to 90 minutes and delivered nothing. Nothing is the word by which I will remember and recall this film. There is nothing to it. I cannot even think of much to say because there is nothing memorable about it. I never knew she cared about him or he cared about her or her sister had any reason to tell her sister anything. The speech by the male character expressing his emotions at the end was so typical of this bland film.
My goodness, why is this movie getting reviews so high?
Yes the setting is nice, cinematography is well done in general. By dialogs? Silly, empty at best.
The acting is not convincing. I was waiting and waiting for the movie to get better. Time wasted, alas.
Overall I find the movie just pathetic. It does not happen that often that I would disagree with critics that much. Oh well. Be warned.
Do not go to this movie if you are tired, or you will truly fall asleep. Stupid, ridiculous and seriously, if they didn't use the "f" word, the script would probably be two pages! Love Emily Blunt and she did the best she could considering the boring and stupid story line. Lovely scenery.
The idea of this movie is very intriguing, but the execution was really bad. Much of the dialogue of this movie was obviously ad-lib, which can be great with the right kinds of actors, but these actors weren't that kind. Yes, the dialogue was 'every day authentic'', but that just means it was as banal as most every day conversations. Good writers write good dialogue for a reason. Lazy directors forgo good writers for vapid ad-lib dialogue. This kind of movie may excite some reviewers because it is 'different', but for the average audience member it just makes for a lousy movie.