IS IT ALWAYS like this? Are there always movies about sisters in the theaters, or is just a fluke of this late-fall, pre-holiday movie season? Whatever the cause, there are three Sisflix to choose from in theaters now. Have you seen any or all?
The first to be released, The Secret Life of Bees, stars Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys and Queen Latifah in the adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name by Sue Monk Kidd. I’ll probably get some hate mail for this, but I tend to avoid Dakota Fanning movies. Preternaturally precocious child stars give me the heebie-jeebies nowadays. (Meaning, now that I’m a grown up. I loved them when I was a kid–just read what I have to say about The Goodbye Girl if you don’t believe me.) I also loved this book, which makes seeing the movie a scary proposition. Can anyone convince me that I should go? I love the other actresses, especially the super-gorgeous, super-talented Sophie Okonedo.
Rachel Getting Married, on the other hand, I saw pretty much as soon as it opened. I am not too proud to say I loved it. It’s not without flaws: it’s pretty busy convincing you of just how hip the movie, the filmmakers, and all its characters are. They have cooler parties, nicer houses and better taste in music than you ever will. But they also have really tortured pasts that are rising up to meet them.
Anne Hathaway is as good as you’ve heard, and her portrayal of a narcissistic addict will take your breath away. Her ability to steal every scene (as both actress, and character) is stunning, funny and painful. Debra Winger is amazing, a creature of such consuming restraint, so withholding of any emotion, you can’t believe she’s real. Rosemary DeWitt is the unsung heroine of both her family (it’s hard to get any attention when crazy little sister Kym is around) and the film. And the music is great.
But I wondered why all the African-American characters (brilliant Anna Deveare Smith as the sisters’ stepmother, charismatic rocker Tunde Adibimpe, whose day job is leading the band TV on the Radio, as Rachel’s fiancé) are so silent–they barely say a word as chaos swirls around them. Is this because if they opened their mouths, they’d have to tell the crazy WASPs exactly what to do with their bad selves?
Last, but absolutely not least, the film I am certain is the finest of this bunch. I’ve Loved You So Long is a French film starring Kristin Scott-Thomas (although English, the actress has lived in France for many years). She plays Juliette, who mysteriously comes to live with her younger sister and the sister’s husband and daughter after an absence that, once explained, makes you reconsider every moment you’ve witnessed in the film. The ending is a frustrating cheat, but the rest is so good, you won’t much care. I saw this one with TSP’s Margaret Roach at a film festival earlier this year, and afterward grilled her on the sisterly dynamics, of both love and pain. She assures me that this film is full of truth, and I can assure you that it’s also a thing of great beauty. It will disturb and move you, but you will not be sorry.
Are there other great sister movies in the theaters or on the horizon? Let us know.
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It’s always like this, especially at peak movie times, because great stories often include sisters. Think about it – what a great plot driver – they know each other so well, they’ve known each other forever, and they can often get away with saying more than friends can. They are sisters. (Oh, and they can elbow their way into your holiday gatherings.) They are almost as tried and true in the story-moving department as the dead mother is in YA books and movies.
Welcome, Elizabeth! I think you’re right on–relationships are what move us, and these are the primal ones for so many of us. And much more fun than that dead mother thing. (Disney, are you listening?)
Every time my 11-year-old tells me about a book or movie, she says “Of course, the mother is DEAD….” Come to think of it, Cinderella had the dead mother and awful step-sisters, who, in movie sister tradition were competitive with each other but also a team. Sorry to take your post so off topic! I will have to see Rachel Getting Married. I’d like to see A. Hathaway outside of the Princess Diaries/Ella Enchanted genre!
Yes, Anne gets her stripes as the horrible and still sympathetic Kym…but back to that off-topic topic of dead mothers in children’s films. It’s disturbed MY mother her whole life: she wouldn’t let me see Bambi and she can’t bear a second viewing of Finding Nemo. I understand the reason on a narrative, Joseph Campbell-y, hero’s quest sort of a level, but really–can’t the filmmakers motivate their characters in a less disturbing way?? Maybe we should have a sisterhood-friendly movie plot contest here at TSP…
I’ve seen Rachel Getting Married twice; the second viewing revealed what I missed the first time. I saw how both sisters expressed, in very different ways, the polarizing neglect of their mother. When they appeared to be fighting each other, they were grappling with this difficult legacy. There’s a similar dynamic in many families, including the one I grew up in.
Thanks, Rona–that’s an incredibly insightful analysis. Debra Winger as the mother is the most painful part of the film. Even understanding the past events (and I won’t be a spoiler and give them away!) I found it hard to comprehend her behavior. But you’re right: the destruction she caused was channeled right back out of both Kym and Rachel. Now, thanks to you, I am going to go see it again! BTW, like Marion, I also loved (and was moved by) your More magazine sisterhood story.
Some day we must conversate on the difference between White / WASP crazy and Black crazy. ; )
Leslie–yes, PLEASE! Can we have that conversation??? Happy to do it right here! Between the two of us, we could write a book :-)
The dead mother of film and fairy tale is often followed by the inept father. My daughter recently made me sit through a DVD of a movie starring “The Rock” as a football player that fit this model. Not sure this is any better, but divorce may be taking the place of death – my tween just raced through the first three Twilight books. I believe the heroine is free to fall in love with the vampire because her parents are divorced and she moves far away to live with her clueless father. No sisters looking out for Bella, unfortunately.
Speaking of sisters – it’s so much more acceptable to have wicked step-sisters than wicked sisters. There have been a few wicked sisters on Law and Order (outing myself as a former L&O addict) but it’s not really a theme. I loved the sister relationship on Mad About You (I swear, I never even watch TV any more!); two sisters, very different, one whackier than the other, both completely exasperated but loving, supportive and tolerant of each other and a husband who knew he better be sister-tolerant, too. OK, I’ve taken you from good 2008 film to bad 1980s TV. Sorry ’bout that!
Elizabeth, don’t ever apologize for liking bad TV. In fact, we’ve got plans afoot to catalog the best and the worst of sisTV, too–I had forgotten (I know, I know) about Mad About You so thanks for the reminder….it’s definitely one for that list.