My Sister’s Keeper (2009/New Line/Warner Blu-ray + DVD)

 

Picture: B-/C/C-     Sound: B/C+     Extras: D     Film: D

 

 

In the summer of 2009, New Line decided that releasing what is essentially a “disease of the week” film was a great idea for alternate programming and that they would have a hit film on their hands.  However, in any season, Nick Cassavetes’ My Sister’s Keeper has the director returning to the commercially successful territory of melodrama that made the overrated The Notebook (reviewed elsewhere on this site) a surprise hit.  However, the new film is nowhere as good and it was a dud.

 

Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin are the leads and sisters who find out that the other sister they love has cancer.  We expected it might at first be either of those actors as Diaz needs some good critical press and Breslin gets praise all the time, usually for no good reason.  However, the sick sister is played by Sofia Vassilieva (TV’s hit Medium) who does a good a job as we expect the other two would.  Also showing up are Alec Baldwin, Jason Patric, Joan Cusack, Emily Deschanel and Thomas Dekker (the thankfully cancelled Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles) holding their own, but it is all too predictable, all we’ve seen before and goes nowhere new.

 

Cassavetes also struck out a few years ago with the compromised, problematic Alpha Dog (also reviewed elsewhere on this site) and is just not taking the risks his father took.  This is four Hollywood duds in a row.  Maybe he needs to try to go independent again.

 

The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image was shot in Super 35mm film with some Super 8mm film, but does not look as good as it could, even in the majority of 35mm footage.  It is too soft and stylized in a way that makes little sense, adding to the many problems of this production.  The separate DVD’s anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image looks even softer with worse Video Black and poorer color reproduction, while the separate DVD’s really poor pan & scan 1.33 X 1 version is so bad, you would think you were looking at a defective disc or VHS.

 

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix on the Blu-ray is not great, but is by default, the highlight of both releases despite some moments where the mix is off.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix in both formats is much weaker and on the pan & scan 1.33 X 1 version has its limited soundfield further diminished.  Extras in both versions include 15 minutes of additional footage, while the Blu-ray adds Digital Copy for PC and PC portable devices and featurette From Picoult To Screen about the author of the book this film is based on.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo