My Sister’s Keeper - DVD Review

WARNER
Street: Nov. 17
Prebook: Oct. 6
> Unabashed, effective tearjerker with strong performances.

Adapted from Jodi Picoult’s best-selling novel, this domestic drama might easily have wound up on Lifetime but for the fine performances of a top-flight cast and the sensitive direction of Nick Cassavetes. Young Anna Fitzgerald (Abigail Breslin), conceived via in vitro fertilization specifically to provide stem cells and bone marrow to her leukemia-stricken older sister Kate (Sofia Vassilieva), sues her parents (Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric) for medical emancipation—an act that threatens to tear her family apart. Although the story material is handled delicately, Keeper is still a tearjerker with a bittersweet ending, and therefore it’s an unlikely candidate for those seeking breezy entertainment.

Shelf Talk: My Sister’s Keeper’s A-list cast—which also includes Alec Baldwin and Joan Cusack—can be counted upon to draw curiosity seekers who might have passed it up in theaters. Neither Breslin nor Diaz is seen in the type of role their fans like best, but both are excellent. Their names are your best selling points.